['readings in ENGLISH 
; HISTORY DRAWN FROM 
I THE ORIGINAL SOURCES 

; • 

I 

j INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE 

I A SHORT HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

nv 6 

EDWARD P. CHEYNEY 



PROFESSOR OF EUROPEAN HISTORY IN THE 
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 



GINN & COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 






Copyright, 1908 
Hy KUWARD p. CHEYNEY 

all rights reservbl) 



0^-5^11 



CINN & COMPANY • PRO- 
FRltTORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



PREFACE 

All intelligent teachers of history realize the desira- 
bility of having their students do more reading of history 
thari is contained in the text-book, and most of them 
agree that this is best found in records and writings 
cent emporary with the events being studied. But the 
practical problem of providing such readings for classes 
is by no means easy to solve. Those who have tried to 
procure the necessary number of copies of books, to dis- 
cover English translations, to find applicable passages, 
and to make practicable requirements best know the 
difficulties of the task. I hope this book of readings 
frorrj the original sources of English history will help to 
overcome these obstacles. It provides in easily access- 
ible form a body of such material as large as can be 
< dually utilized by most classes. It is intended to be used 
<'ib I close companion to my S/iort History of England. 
The matter contained in it is arranged in the same order 
as the subjects taken up in the text-book, and is selected 
with a view to the further explanation and illustration 
of the principal points there discussed. It differs also 
from previous collections in drawing on a somewhat 
iter variety of historical material, and in being, it is 
;ved, the result of a more extensive and prolonged 
search for suitable illustrative passages. 

1 have, of course, utilized the suggestions of earlier 
collectors of similar material, and take thi'^ opportunity 



iv Readings in English History 

of acknowledging my indebtedness to the ingenuity and 
intelligence displayed by them in the discovery of certain 
illustrative documents. I have been constantly aided 
in the work of selection, translation, and editing by 
Dr. Helen Gertrude Preston of the Girls' High School 
of Philadelphia. Professor James Harvey Robinson, the 
editor of the series of which this volume is a part, 
through our long labors together over manuscript and 
proof, has often contributed the last and best wor.j of 
suggestion, advice, or decision. 

EDWARD P. CHEYNEY 

University of Pennsylvania 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I— THE GEOGRAPHY OF ENGLAND 

I. Accounts by Ancient Geographical Observers p^ge 

1. Caesar's description of Britain 2 

De Bella Gallico, Lib. v, c. 13. 

2. Description by Diodorus Siculus 2 

Library of His/ories, Lib. v, cc. 21, 22 ; trans, in Monumenta 
Historica Britannica, p. ii. 

3. Tacitus' description 4 

Agricola, cc. 10, 12. 

4. Gildas' description 6 

De Excidio Britanniae, Sect. 3 ; Giles, Six Old English 
Chroniclers, p. 299. 

II. Accounts by Modern Observers 

5. Paul Hentzner's description of the Downs 6 

Travels in England, pp. 80 sq. 

6. A modern iiistorian's interest 7 

J. R. Green, The Making of England, pp. 8, 9-12. 

CHAPTER II — PREHISTORIC AND CELTIC BRITAIN 

I. The First Contact of the Romans with the Britons 

7. Cjesar's description of his first invasion 10 

De Bella Gallico, Lib. iv, cc. 20-27. 

8. Caesar's description of his second invasion 13 

Ibid. Lib. v, cc. 8, 9, 18. 

9. A letter from Cicero to Atticus, 54 b.c 14 

R. Y. Tyrrell, Correspondence of Cicero, No. CXLIV. 

10. A letter from Cicero to Atticus, 54 b.c 14 

Ibid. No. CLIV. 



vi Kfiu/ini^y in Jui^lis/t Jlistory 

PACK 

IT. The Customs of tho Hritoiis 

11. Cvs.u's desciiplion of the Hritons 15 

D* IWIlo GiiUiiVy Lib, v, cc. la, 14; lib. iv, c. ;?. 

12. Stiuho's description of the Britons i6 

(rVty*"''/'"'', l-ib, iv, Aloiiiimt'utii flistoricii BritanHica, 
pp. v» .»v. 

ij. T.Kitiis' description of tlic Ihitons 18 

Agncoiit, cc. u, I.'. 

CHAPTER III — ROMAN imilAlN 

1. The Conquest of Uritain 

14. llic inv.isiiM> under Claudius zo 

Dion Ciisxius, Lib. 1\, cc. u^-jj; MoHumfnUi Hnhirua 
HritaHHUtt, p. liv. 

15. Outline of the eiirly campaigns 2.1 

r.\t.iri's, Ai^riivia, cc. i?, 14. 

16. The conquest of Anglesea and the revolt of lH>.ulice.i , j j 

r.\i iri's, AhmiuVs, Lib. xiv, cc. ^\ j^?-^^. 

II. The Organization and Oefense of the Froviiire 

17. The administration of Agricola -H> 

'r.\t."rrus, . f_*,-/7Vi>/.i, cc. 3j, 21. i ;. 
iS. The building of the wall, A. IV i.'o jS 

.I'au's Sr.\RTi.\NV»s. /7/ii //iK/r/.:**/', cc. n, u, u>; Aftotu 
mtHta Historua firitaHHica, p. Ixv. 

10. A visit of the Kmpen^r Severus, .v.n. joS-jii .... 28 
Mkkoimam's, Lib. iii, c. 46; Monutttfnta Historica liritoH- 
Ht\\t, pp. Ixiii .vy. 

10. The officials of the empire in Hritain jo 

AV////.I />/>*» /V.;/«»«i,\ol. 11. pp. 1; ;. 74, So. 114 ; c<.i. by Eduard 
Uot.>cking. 

21. Inscriptions from Roman Britain 31 

I'homas Wkic.ht. Thf iV.V. t'tf A'i-w.in. un,/ thf Saxon, 
pp. ij;, 317. jJts j5h^<. 

22. British signers at the Christi..m church couircil at .\rles, 

A.n. 314 3a 

Hapoan and Stibbs, Comncils and EircUsiasticai Doat- 
mfHts, Vol. 1, p. 7. 

III. Lixter Roman Britain 

23. An account of the ravaging of Roman Britain . . . . J2 

GiLDAS, Df /■r,v»-»«//f Brit.iHHiM, Sects. 14-^4, in A".» OiJ 
EH^.'is/t CAivMi-Urs, pp. 303-311; trans, by J. A. Giles. 



Contents vii 

PAOE 

24- The ruins of the city of Kath • • 33 

Co'/K and Tinkkk, Translations from Old English Poetry, 
pp. 56-57 ; trans, by CFiauncey B. Tinker. 



CHAPTER IV — EARLY SAXON ENGLAND 

I. The Anglo-Saxon Settlements 

25. Gilda.s' account of the settlements 35 

De Excidio liritanniae, .Sects. 23, 26 ; Six Old English Chron- 
iclers, pp. 310, 313; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

26. Bede's account of the settlement 37 

Ecclesiastical History of England, Lib. i, c. xv ; ed. and trans, 
by J. A. Giles, pp. 23-25. 

27. Extracts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 39 

Trans, by J. A. Giles, pp. 309-312. 

II, The New Race 

28. The Germans at home 41 

Tacitus, Germania, cc. 4-16, in Translations and Reprints, 
University of Pennsylvania, Vol. VI, No. 3; trans, by 
Arthur C. Howland. 

29. A feast in the hall 44 

Beowulf, .Sect. 9, lines 1226-1267; adapted from Benjamin 
Thorpe. 

30. Anglo-Saxon charm 45 

Cook and Tinkek, Specimens of Old English Poetry, p. 167 ; 
trans, by W. O. Stevens. 

III. The Conversion to Christianity 

y. Scene in the market place at Rome 46 

Bede, Ecclesiastical History, Lib. ii, c. i ; trans, by J. A. Giles, 
p. 67. 

32. The arrival of Augustine 47 

Ibid. Lib. i, cc. 25, 26; Giles, pp. 36-39. 

33. Missions in Northumbria 49 

Ibid. Lib. ii, c. 13; Lib. iii, c. 3; Giles, pp. 94-96, 98, 111-112. 

34. The conversion of Ea.st Anglia 52 

Ibid. Lib. ii, c. 15 ; Lib. iii, c. 18; Giles, pp. 98, 137. 

35. Description of Cacdmon 53 

Ibid. Lib. iv, c. 24, in Cook and 'Y\iiKv.K,Translations from 
Old English Poetry, pp. 180-182 ; trans, by A. S. Cook. 

36. A selection from the Exodus, a poem in imitation of 



Caedmon 

Cook and Tinker, Translations from Old English Poetry, 
pp. 118-119; trans, by Henry S. Canby. 



55 



viii Readings in English History 

PAGE 

37. A letter from Charles the Great to Offa, king of 

Mercia ^6 

Haddan and Stubbs, Vol. Ill, pp. 496 sq. 

CHAPTER V — LATER SAXON ENGLAND 

I. The Attack of the Danes 

38. A letter from Alcum to the Kentishmen 57 

Haddan and Stubbs, Vol. Ill, p. 510. 

39. Extracts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 787-882 . . 59 

Bede, Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chron- 
icle, pp. 341-357; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

n. Alfred and the Life of his Times 

40. From Asser's Life of Alfred 63 

Six Old English Chroniclers, pp. 51-77 ; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

41. Dialogue between a teacher and pupils 69 

Colloquium yElfrici, in Klipstein, Analecta Anglo-Saxon- 
ica, Vol. I, pp. 195-214. 

42. Rectititdines Singulartim Personarum 73 

Thorpe, Ancient Laws atid Institutes, Vol. I, p. 434. 

43. The battle of Brunanburh 74 

Cook and Tinker, Translations from Old English Poetry, 
pp. 26-30 ; trans, by Alfred Tennyson. 

in. The Political Organization of England 

44. A meeting of a shire moot 77 

Thorpe, Diplomatarium Anglicanum, pp. 336 sqq. 

45. Ordinance of King Edgar for the meeting of the hun- 

dred, borough, and shire courts, about a.d. 975 ... 78 
Thorpe, Ancient Laws and histitutes of England, Vol. I, 
p. 258 ; trans, by Benjamin Thorpe. 

46. Rules for the ordeal of iron 79 

Concilium Greatanlea, can. vii and viii in Harduin, Acta 
Concilioru>n, Vol. VI, pt. I, col. 569. 

47. Extracts from the Dooms of Alfred 80 

Thorpe, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, Vol. I, 
PP- 49-97- 

CHAPTER VI— THE DANISH AND THE NORMAN 
CONQUESTS 

L The Danish Conquest 

48. Extracts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 991-1031 . . S3 

Bede, Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chron- 
icle, pp. 389-412; trans, by J. A. Giles. 



Contents ix 

PAGE 

49. Account from the Z//^ (7/" J^. Oswald 85 

Vita Sancti Oswaldi, Atictore Anonymo, R. S., Vol. 71, pt. i, 
pp. 455 sq. 

50. Account from Adam of Bremen 86 

Pertz, Scriptores, Vol. VII, pp. 324 sq. 

51. Letter from Cnut sent from Rome to the English people 87 

Florence of Worcester, Chronicle; trans, by Thomas 
Forester, pp. 137 sqq. 

II. The Norman Conquest 

52. The events that led to the invasion 90 

William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regtttn Anglorum , R. S., 
Vol. 90, pt. I, p. 278. 

53. Preparations for the invasion of England 95 

Wace, Roman de Ron., pp. 117-120, 127-128; trans, by 
Edgar Taylor. 

54. The battle of Hastings 98 

William of Poitou in Scriptores Normannortim His- 
toriae, pp. 201 sq. 

55. Ravages in the north loi 

Symeonis Monachi Historia Res^um, R. S., Vol. 75, pt. 2, 
p. 188. 

CHAPTER VII — ENGLAND UNDER THE NORMANS 
I. Immediate Results of the Conquest 

56. Description of the Normans 102 

William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum, R. S., 
Vol. 90, pt. 2, p. 306. 

57. Grants of lands to Norman nobles and knights . . . 103 

Ordericus \ it a-l\s, Historia Ecclesiastica Angliae Nor- 
manjiiae, Book IV, chap, vii ; trans, by T. Forester, Vol. II, 
pp. 47-50- 

58. Edict concerning the wager of battle 105 

Thorpe, Ancient Laws and histitntes of England, Vol. I, 
p. 488. 

59. Coronation oath of William 105 

Florence of Worcester, Chronicle ; trans, by Thomas 
Forester, p. 171. 

60. William's grant of liberties to London 105 

Liber Custumarum, R. S., Vol. 122, pt. i, pp. 25-26. 
6t. William's grant of liberties to an abbey 106 

Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon. R. S., Vol. 2, pt. i, p. i. 
62. Making of the New Forest 106 

Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica, Book X, chap, 
xiv; trans, by T. Forester, Vol. Ill, p. 260. 



X Readings in Etiglish History 



PAGE 



63. A description of William 107 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, year 1087 ; Bede and the Anglo- 
Saxon Chronicle, pp. 461-463; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

II. William and the Church 

64. Strengthening of the church courts 109 

Thorpe, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, Vol. I, 
p. 495. 

65. Letter to Pope Gregory about 1076 no 

Ellis, Original Letters, Series III, Vol. I, No. IX. 

66. William's rules in church matters no 

Eadmer of Canterbury, Historia Novormn in Anglia, 
R. S., Vol. 81, p. 10. 

III. Domesday Book 

67. The decree for drawing up Domesday Book, and the 

Salisbury Oath 11 1 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, yearsjo8ei-ioS6; Bede and the Anglor 
Saxon Chronicle, pp. 458-459 ; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

68. The form of inquisition for Domesday Book . . . . 112 

Liber Eliensis, Domesday Book, Vol. IV, p. 497. 

69. Extracts from Domesday Book 113 

Domesday Book, Vol. II, fo. 330 b., fo. 304. 

IV. William II and Lanfranc 

70. The promises and bad actions of William Rufus . . . 115 

Eadmer, Historia Novortim in Anglia, R.S., Vol. 81, pp. 25, 
26. 

71. William's boldness of spirit 116 

William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum, R. S., Vol. 90, 
pt- 2, p. yji- 

72. List of relics in York minster about 1200 117 

Historians of the Church of York, R. S., Vol. 71, pt. 3, 
pp. 106 sqq. 

V. The Reign of Henry I 

73. The coronation charter of Henry I 121 

Thorpe, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, Vol. I, 
pp. 497-502. 

74. The canonization of Edward the Confessor 123 

WiLKiNS, Concilia, Vol. I, p. 419. 

75. Letter of Henry I to Anselm, archbishop of Canter- 

bury 124 

Anselm^s Letters, torn. 159, pp. iii-xii ; ed. by Migne. 

76. Letter from Pope Paschal II to Henry I 126 

Eadmer, Historia Novorum, R. S., Vol. 81, pp. 134-136. 



Contents xi 



PAGE 



77. The compromise concerning investitures 127 

Eadmer, Historia Novorum, R. S., Vol. 81, p. 186. 

VI. Stephen and the Anarchy 

78. A description of the anarchy under Stephen .... 128 

A7iglo-Saxon Chronicle, years 1135-1137; Bede and the 
Anglo-Saxo7i Chronicle, pp. 501-504 ; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

79. Seizure of the monastery at Ramsey by Geoffrey de 

Mandeville 130 

William of Newburgh, Historia Rerum Anglicamm, 
R. S., Vol. 82, pt. I, pp. 45-46. 

VII. FeudaHsm 

80. Feudal rules for reliefs 131 

Leges Guliehni Co7tqiicsto7-is, XX, De Releviis ; Thorpe, 
Ancient Laws and Institutes, Vol. I, p. 475. 

81. Duties of lords and vassals 132 

Leges He7irici Pri/ni, LXXXII, 3, 4; LV, i, 2, 3; Ibid, 
pp. 552, 590. 

82. Acknowledgments of feudal service due to the king . 133 

Red Book of the Exchequer, R. S., Vol. 99, pt. i, pp. 233, 
400. 

83. Records of tenants and subtenants 134 

Rotuli Nundrcdorum, Vol. I, pp. 253, 278. 

84. Wardship, marriage, and relief 134 

Thomas Madox, History and A7itiquities of the Ex- 
chequer, p. 221. 

85. An instance of payment of relief 135 

Ibid. p. 218. 

86. Guarantee of a feudal court to a monastery .... 135 

Chro7iico7i Mo7iasterii de Abi7igdo7i, R. S., Vol. 2, pt. 2, 
p. 165. 

87. Confiscation and regrant of a fief 136 

Rotuli Hu7idredorum, Vol. II, p. 783. 

CHAPTER VIII — FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL 
UNITY 

I. Henry II and his Reforms 

88. A personal description of Henry II 137 

GiRALDus Cambrensis, R. S., Vol. 21, pt. 5, pp. 302-306. 

89. Removal of the mercenaries and resumption of estates 139 

William of Newburgh, Historia Rerum Anglicarum, 
R. S., Vol. 82, pt. 1, pp. 101-105, 



xii Readings in English History 

PAGE 

90. Extracts from the Assize of Clarendon 141 

Stubbs, Select Charters, pp. \^-^sqq. 

91. Extracts from the Assize of Arms 143 

Chronica Roger de Hoveden, R. S., Vol. 51, pt. 2, p. 261. 

II. The Struggle with Thomas 

92. Thomas as chancellor 144 

William Fitzstephen, Vita St. Thomae, R. S., Vol. 67. 
pt. 3, pp. 18-25. 

93. The struggle between the archbishop and the king, and 

the council at Clarendon 145 

Chronica Roger de Hoveden, R. S., Vol. 51, pt. i, pp. 219-222. 

94. Extracts from the Constitutions of Clarendon . . . 148 

Stubbs, Select Charters, pp. 137 sqq. 

95. An appeal to the pope 151 

Alan of Tewksbury, Vita St. Thomae, R. S., Vol. 67, pt. 2, 
PP- 336-341- 

96. The murder of Thomas 155 

Edward Grim, R. S., Vol. 67, pt. 2, pp. 435 sqq. 

97. The penance of the king 158 

Ralph of Diceto, Ymagines Historiaritm, R. S., Vol. 68, 
pt. I, p. 383. 

98. The canonization of Thomas 159 

Letter of the pope to Albert and Theodwine, legates to Eng- 
land ; Life of St. Thomas, R. S , Vol. 67, pt. 7, pp. 544 sqq. 

99. Some miracles of St. Thomas 160 

Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, R. S., Vol. 67, 
pt. I, pp. 145 sqq. 

III. Giraldus Cambrensis and the Conquest of Ireland 

100. Extracts from the autobiography of Giraldus Cam- 

brensis 164 

R. S., Vol. 21, pt. I, pp. 21 sqq. 

10 1. Stories about Ireland 168 

Giraldus Cambrensis, Tofographia Hibernica, R. S., 
Vol. 21, pt. 5, pp. 26 sqq. 

102. Extracts from The Story of Dermot and the Earl . . 169 

Trans, by G. H. Orpen, pp. 199, 225, 236-237. 

IV. Richard I and the Third Crusade 

103. Scene at the burial of Henry II 171 

Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi, R. S., Vol. 49, pt. 2, p. 71. 

104. The character of King Richard 172 

Itinerariiim Regis Ricardi, Lib. ii, c. 5 ; trans, by T. A. 
Archer, The Crusade of Richard I, p. 6. 



Contents xiii 

PAGE 

105. Ordinances of Richard for order of the crusading fleet 

given at Chinon, June, 1190 173 

Roger de Hoveden, III, 35 ; trans, by T. A. Archer, The Cru- 
sade of Richard I, p. 8. 

106. The penitence of Richard in Sicily 174 

Roger de Hoveden, III, 74; trans, by T. A. Archer, Ibid, 
pp. 39 sqq. 

107. A fight with the Saracens in the march from Acre to 

Caesarea, August 25, 1191 175 

Itinerarhim Ricardi, Lib. iv, c. 7 ; trans, by T. A. Archer, 
Ibid. pp. 134-138. 

V. The Reign of John 

108. The laying of the interdict 177 

Annals of Waverley, R. S., Vol. 36, pt. 2, p. 260. 

109. The conspiracy of the barons 179 

Roger of Wendover, Chronica Majora, Vol. 2, pp. 
303-324; trans, by J. A. Giles. 

1 10. Extracts from the Great Charter 182 

Stubbs, Select Charters, pp. 2()6 sqq. 

CHAPTER IX — THE FORMATION OF A UNITED 
ENGLISH NATION 

I. The Universities 

111. College and university rules 188 

Muninieiita Acadeiiiica Oxonica, R. S., Vol. 50, pt. i, pp. 
58 sqq. 

112. Endowment of loans to students and masters .... igo 

Ibid. pp. 82 sqq. 

113. Contests between students in Oxford 191 

Chronicon Hcnrici Knighton, R. S., Vol. 92, pt. 2, p. 309. 

114. Contests in Cambridge 192 

James F. Willard, The Royal Authority; Coroners' 
Rolls, No. 23, App., p. 84. 

1 1 5. Protection of churchmen from death through their 

ordination 191 

Richard of Bury, Philobiblon, chap. iv. 

116. A letter asking papal privileges 194 

Letters from Northern Registers, R. S., Vol. 61, p. 122. 

II. The Monasteries 

117. Occurrences in the history of St. Albans 195 

Gesta Abbatum Motiasterii Sancti Albani, R. S., Vol, 3, 
pt. I, pp. 182, 189, 192-194, 234, 314, 322, 323, 483. 



xiv Readings in English History 

PAGB 

118. Occurrences in the history of St. Edmunds 201 

Jocelin of Brakelond, pp. i, 11, 21 ; trans, by T. E. Tomlins. 

119. Account of the origin of the Cistercians 205 

William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum, 
Lib. iv, R. S., Vol. 90, pt. 2, pp. 380 sqq. 

III. Towns and Gilds 

120. Charter given to the city of Lincoln about 1160 . . . 208 

Rymer, Foedera, Vol. I, p. 40. 

121. Ordinances of the spurriers of London 209 

Riley, Memorials of London, pp. 226 sqq. 

122. Extracts from ordinances of the white-tawyers of 

London 211 

Ibid. pp. 232-234. 

IV. Rural Life 

123. Survey of a rural village 212 

Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce, 
Vol. I, pp. 505-513. 

124. Services of a villein tenant 215 

Citsttimals of Bait le Abbey, pp. 19-22 ; pub. by The Camden 
Society. 

V. Conflicts between Henry III and the Barons 

125. Summons of a noble to a Great Council 217 

Lords'' Report on the Dignity of a Peer, Vol. II, p. 68. 

126. A meeting of the Great Council in 1242 218 

Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, R. S., Vol. 57, pt. 4, 
pp. 181 sqq. 

127. An incident in the life of Simon de Montfort .... 221 

Ibid. pt. 5, p. 706. 

128. The battle of Lewes, 1264 222 

William Rishanger, Chronica, R. S., Vol. 114, pp. 25 sqq. 

VI. The Reign of Edward I 

129. Personal description of Edward I 226 

Ibid. p. 76. 

130. Summons of representatives of the counties and towns 

to parliament 227 

Lords'' Report on the Dignity of a Peer, Vol. II, p. 66. 

131. Early riots against the Jews at London 227 

William of Newburgh, R. S., Vol. 82, pt. i, pp. 294 sqq. 

132. The expulsion of the Jews 230 

• John de Trokelowe, R. S., Vol. 115, p. 57. 



• Contents xv 

PAGE 

133. Decision in favor of John Balliol 231 

William Rishanger, Chronica, R. S., Vol. 114, pp. 135- 
136. 

134. The battle of Bannockburn 232 

Chroiiicon Galfridi le Baker de Stvynebroke, pp. 7-8 ; ed. 
by E. M. Thompson. 

CHAPTER X — THE FIRST HALF OF THE HUNDRED 
YEARS' WAR 

I. The Early Occurrences of the War 

135. The beginning of the war 233 

Froissart, Chronicles, Bk. I, chaps. 5, 35, 36, 43, 50 ; trans, 
by John Bourchier, Lord Earners. 

136. Challenge of Edward III to Philip of Valois .... 240 

Continnatio Chronicariim Adae Mtirimtiih, R. S., Vol. 93, 
pp. 111-112; ed. and trans, by E. M. Thompson. 

137. Reply of King Philip 241 

Ibid. p. 114. 

138. The battle of Crecy 242 

Froissart, Chronicles, Bk. I, chap. 130; trans, by John 
Bourchier, Lord Berners. 

II. The Culmination of the Reign of Edward III 

139. Establishment of the Order of the Garter by Edward III 246 

Continuatio Chronicarum Adae Murimuth, R. S., Vol. 93, 
pp. 155-156. 

140. Extracts from the Treaty of Bretigny 247 

E. CoSNEAU, Les Grands Traites de la Guerre de Cent 
Ans, pp. 39-68. 

141. Proclamation favoring archery 249 

Rymer, Foedera, Hague ed., Vol. Ill, pt. 2, p. 79. 

III. The Quarrel over Appointments from Rome 

142. The evils of appointments of foreigners 250 

3 Rich. II, c. 3, Statutes of the Realm, Vol. II, p. 14 

143. Prohibition of obtaining appointments from the pope . 251 

12 Rich. II, c. 15, Statutes of the Realm, Vol. II, p. 60. 

144. A statute of praemunire, 1393 251 

16 Rich. II, c. 5, Statutes of the Realm, Vol. Ill, p. 84. 

145. A Welsh clergyman seeking appointment from Rome, 

1402 252 

Adam of Usk, Chronicon, pp. 196 sqq. 



XVI 



Readings 2?i Etiglish Histoiy^ 



^IV. The Black Death and its Effects 

146. The effects of the pestilence 255 

Chronicon Hetirici Kttighion, K. S., Vol. 92, pt. 2, pp. 61 
sgq. : trans, by W. J. Ashley. 

147. A campaign after the renewal of the war 257 

Walsingham, Hisioria Anglicann, R. S., Vol. 116, pt. i 
P-3IS- 

V. The Political and the Social Struggle 

148. The Good Parliament 258 

Ibid. pp. 320, 321. 

149. The grant of the first poll tax, 1377 260 

Rotiili Parliatneniorii7)i, Vol. II, p. 3O4. 

150. A sermon of John Ball 260 

Froissart, Chronicles, chap. 3S1 ; trans, by John Bour- 
chier, Lord Berners. 

\,' 151. The peasants' rising at London 261 

Chronicon Henrici Knighton, R. S., Vol. 92, pt. 2, pp. 131- 
150. 

152. Trial of a rebel 265 

Edgar Powell, The Rising in East Anglia, App. II, pp. 
126, 127. 

VI. Wycliffe and the Lollards 

153. A contemporary account of Wycliffe 267 

Chronicon Henrici Knighton, R. S., Vol. 92, pt. 2, pp. 151, 
152. 

1 54. Extracts from one of WycUffe's tracts 267 

Arnold, Select Works of John Wycliffe, Vol. Ill, p. 433. 

155. A statement of Lollard belief 268 

Chronicon Henrici Knighton, R. S., Vol. 92, pt. 2, p. 174. 

1 56. Two anecdotes of the Lollards 269 

Ibid. pp. 163-164, 312, 313. 

157. Execution of a Lollard 271 

Capgrave, Chronicle of England, R. S., Vol. i, p. 297. 

VII. The English Language and Literature 

158. A law for English to be used in the law courts . . . 272 

36 Edward III, stat. i, c. 15, Statutes of the Realm, Vol. I, 
P- 375- 

159. Change of customs from French to English, 1385 . . 273 

Ralph Higden. Folychronicon, trans, by John of Trevisa; 
Morris and Skeat, Specimens of Early English, Vol. 
II, pp. 240-242. 

160. Extract from Chaucer's Prologue to the Canterbury Tales 274 

W. W. Skeat, Complete Works of Chaucer, Vol. IV, pp. 
9-10, lines 285-309. 



Contents xvii 

PAGE 

i6i. Extract from Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe, 

1391 275 

W. W. Skeat, Complete Works of Chaucer, Vol. Ill, 
pp. 175-176, lines 1-15, 35-45. 

162. A visit of Froissart to England in 1395 276 

FROissART,CAro«ic/^.f,Vol.II,chap. 196; trans. by John 
Bourchier, Lord Berners. 

163. The claim of the duke of Lancaster to the throne . 278 

Walsingham, Hisloria Anglicana, R. S., Vol. 116, 
pt. 2, p. 237. 

CHAPTER XI — THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER 
AND YORK 

I, The Growth of the Powers of Parliament 

164. Conditional grant of taxes, 1348 279 

Rotuli Parliameniorum, Vol. II, p. 201. 

165. The first instance of impeachment, 1376 280 

Ibid. p. 323. 

166. Freedom of speech in parliament in the case of 

Thomas Haxey 282 

Ibid. Vol. Ill, p. 434. 

II. Rising of Glendower and Renewal of the French War 

167. A letter from Wales to the king, 1403 283 

Ellis, Original Letters, Series II, Vol. I, pp. ly sq. 

168. Letter from Prince Henry to his father, 1405 . . . 283 

Ibid. pp. 39 sqq. 

169. Dispute between French and English 284 

Juvenal des Ursins, Histoire de Charles VI, in 
MiCHAUD, Noiivelle Collection des Memoir es relatifs 
h V histoire de France, Vol. II, pp. 500-506. 

170. Speech of Henry V before the battle of Agincourt . 286 

Gesta Henrici, in F. H. Durham, English History 
from Original Sources, Vol. Ill, pt. i, p. 48. 

171. Account of the battle of Agincourt 286 

Capgrave, Chronicle of Ettgland, R. S., Vol. i, pp. 
311-312. 

172. Extracts from the Treaty of-Troyes, 1420. . . . 287 

E. Cosneau, Les Grands Traites de la Guerrf de Cent 
Ans, pp. 103-112. 



xviii Readings in English History 

PAGB 

173. Arrangements of Henry V on his deathbed .... 288 

Thomas Elmham, Vita Henrici Quinti, in F. H. Durham, 
English History from Original Sources, Vol. Ill, pt. i, 
p. 66. 

III. Joan of Arc and the Close of the Hundred Years' 

War 

174. Account of Joan's mission and the rehef of Orleans . 289 

Chronicles of Ejignerrand de Mo?tstrelei, Book II, chaps. 57, 
59; trans, by Thomas Johnes, Vol. I, pp. 550-553. 

175. Letter sent by Joan to the English commander . . . 292 

QuiCHERAT, Prods de Condemnation de Jeanne d''Arc, 
Vol. I, pp. 240-241. 

176. Extracts from the testimony of Joan on her trial . . . 293 

Ibid. pp. 46-182. 

177. Expulsion of the English from France 296 

Jehan de Waurin, Recueil des Croniques, R. S., Vol.39, 
pt. 5, p. 193. 

IV. The Wars of the Roses 

178. The character of Henry VI 296 

Blakman, Dc Virtjttibtis et Miraculis Henrici Sexti, in 
F. H. Durham, English History from Original Sources, 
Vol. Ill, pt. 2, p. 79. 

179. The battle of Blore Heath 297 

Chronicle of Hetiry VI, p. 80; ed. by J. S. Davies ; pub. 
by The Camden Society. 

180. Typical execution after the battle of St. Albans . . . 298 

Jehan de Waurin, Recueil des Croniques, R. S., Vol. 39, 
pt. 5, pp. 329 sq. 

V. The Reigns of Edward IV and Richard III 

181. Seizure of the throne by Edward IV 299 

Register of Bishop Wheihainstede, R. S., Vol. 113, pt. i, 
pp. 404-405. 

182. The invention of benevolences 300 

Fabyan, Concordence of Hi star ie, in F. H. Durham, Eng- 
lish History from Original Sources, Vol. Ill, pt. 2, p. 92. 

183. The wealth of Edward IV 301 

Contifiuation of Croyland Chronicle, Ibid. p. 93. 

184. The rise of Richard III 301 

Thomas More, The Historie of Kyng Richarde the Thirde, 
pp. 45-116. 



Contents xix 

CHAPTER XII — THE EARLY TUDOR PERIOD 
I. Henry VII and his Policy page 

185. Extracts from account book of Henry VII, 1497-1501 306 

Samuel Bentley, Excerpta Historica, pp. 85-133. Lon- 
don, 1833. 

186. Account of the voyage of John Cabot to America . .311 

(Letter from Soncino to the duke of Milan, from England, 
December 18,1497.) Original Narratives of Early Ameri- 
can History, Vol. II, pp. 425-429 ; trans, by Charles Deane 
and B. H. Nash. 

187-190. Letters from Erasmus concerning England . . . 314 

F. M. Nichols, The Epistles of Erasmus, pp. 225-226, 
215, 38S, 201. 

191. Letter from Erasmus to a friend in England .... 316 

J. S. Brewer, The Reign of Henry VHI, Vol. I, p. 239. 

192. Extracts from More's Utopia 318 

In Ideal Coynmoiiweaniis, pp. 54 sqq. ; ed. by Henry Morley. 

193. Extracts from Dialogue between Cardinal Pole and 

Thomas Liipset 326 

Ed. by Cowper ; pub. by The Early English Text Society, 
PP- 134-136- 

194. Caxton's difficulties with the English language . . . 328 

Prologue to Eneydos, 1490, pp. 1-3 ; pub. by The Early 
English Text Society. 

II. Henry VIIL 

195. A description of the king in 1 519 330 

Sebastian Giustiniani to the Senate, Calendar of State 
Papers, Venetian, Vol. II, p. 559; translation modified. 

196. Anecdotes concerning Henry VIII and Sir Thomas 

More 331 

Roper, Life of More, Camelot Series, Vol. XII, pp. \\sqq ; 
ed. by M. Adams. 

197. Letter from Richard Pace to Cardinal Wolsey, concern- 

ing Henry's book against Luther 333 

Ellis, Original Letters, Series II, Vol. I, p. 286. 

198. Extract from satirical poem against Wolsey .... 334 

John Skelton, Why come ye not to Court? 

HI. The Early Stages of the Reformation 

199. A love letter from Henry to Anne Boleyn 336 

Harleian Miscellany, Vol. I, pp. 189 sq. 



XX Readings in English History 



FAGB 



200. Opening scene at the court of the legates at Blackfriars 337 

Cavendish, Life of Cardinal Wolsey, pp. 11 5-1 16. 

201. Extracts from the Submission of the Clergy, 1532 . . 340 

Gee and Hardy, Docu^nents illustrative of the History of 
the English Churchy pp. 176-178. 

202. Extract from the first Act of Annates, 1532 .... 341 

Ibid. pp. 1 78-18 1. 

203. Extracts from the Statute of Appeals, 1533 342 

Ibid. pp. 187-190. 

204. Extracts from the Act of Supremacy, 1534 343 

Ibid. pp. 243-244. 

205-206. Two letters from the commissioners for the dis- 
solution of the monasteries, 1535, 1538 345 

Letters relating to the Suppression of the Monasteries, 
pp. 85-86, 221-223; P^^- ^y T^^ Camden Society. 

207. Extracts from Roper's Life of Mo7-e 347 

Printed with More, Utopia, Camelot Series, pp. 43-61. 

IV. The Reign of Edward VI 

208. Rapid religious changes in London 351 

Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London, pp. 54-67 ; pub. 
by The Camden Society. 

209. More's remarks on the inclosures 353 

Utopia, Book I, Camelot Series, pp. 89-90. 

V. The Reign of Queen Mary 

210. A description of Queen Mary 355 

Report of Giovanni Michele to the Venetian senate, 1557, 
in Ellis, Original Letters, Series II, Vol. II, p. 236. 

211. Execution of Lady Jane Grey 356 

Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 55-59; 
pub. by The Camden Society. 

2X2. Two executions for heresy 358 

Fox, Book of Martyrs, Book XI, Sect. ix. 

CHAPTER XIII— THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH 

I. The Early Period of Queen Elizabeth 

213. Description of Elizabeth by the Venetian ambassador, 

1556 361 

Alberi, Rclazioni. etc., Series I, Vol. II, pp. 289 sqq.; 
trans, by Rye. 



Contents xxi 

PAGE 

214. Letters from the Spanish ambassador, 1 558-1 559 . . 363 

Calendar of State Papers, Spanish, 1558-1567, pp. 7-67. 

215. Extracts from the Act of Supremacy of 1558-1559 . . 369 

Gee and Hardy, Documents illustrative of the History of 
the English Church, pp. 446-453. 

216. Extracts from the Act of Uniformity of 1 558-1 559 . . 371 

Ibid. pp. 458-463. 

217. Letter from Pius IV to Elizabeth, 1560 373 

DoDD-TiERNEY, History of the Church of England, Vol. II, 

App. p. cccxxi. 

218-219. Extracts from the Memoirs of Sir James Melville 374 
Ed. by George Scott, 1735, pp. 90-112, 138-139. 

II. The Struggle with the Catholics 

220. Bull of excommunication and deposition of Elizabeth 383 
DoDD-TiERNEY, History of the Church of England, 
Vol. Ill, App. pp. ii sqq. 

221-223. Questions and answers submitted to Roman 

Catholics 386 

Ibid. pp. iv-xvi. 
224-227. Executions of missionary priests for treason . . 389 

Richard Challoner, Afemoirs of Alissionary Priests, 
Vol. I, pp. 45, 81, 123, 149 i-^^. 

III. Commerce and Explorations 

228. Extracts from Frobisher's logbook of his voyage in 

search of the Northwest passage 394 

Hakluyt, Principal Navigations, Vol. VII, pp. 204-211. 

229. Extracts from Cavendish's account of Drake's voyage 

around the world, 1 577-1 580 396 

Ibid. Vol. XI, pp. 101-132. 

230. Preface to Hakluyt's /'r/«(r?^a/Av7Z'/^a^/w«j, 1589 . . 401 

Ibid. Vol. I, pp. xvii-xx. 

IV. Mary Queen of Scots and the Armada 

231. Letter from Queen Elizabeth to James VI of Scotland 403 

Ellis, Original Letters, Series I, Vol. Ill, pp. 22-23. 

232-234. Letters written during the fight with the Spanish 

Armada, July and August, 1588 404 

Laughton, State Papers relating to the Defeat of the 
Spatiish Armada, Vol. I, pp. 288, 341; Vol. II, p. 6; 
pub. by The Navy Records Society, 1894. 

235. A narrative of the Armada fight 406 

Metnoirs of the Life of Robert Cary, 1577-1625, pp. 17 sqq. 



xxii Readings in English History 

PAGE 

V. Personal Characteristics of Elizabeth 

236. Testimony to her acquirements by her teacher . . . 408 

Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 139; ed. 1898. 

237. Testimony by a learned man of the time 409 

Dr. William Turner, Herbal (dedication of), in Rye, 
England as seen by Foreigners, p. 267. 

238. A Fourme of Prayer with thanksgiving, to be used of 

all the Queene's majesties' loving subjectes every 

year, the 17 of November 409 

Ibid. p. 265. 

239. Speech of the queen to the army at Tilbury, 1588 . . 410 

Somers'' Tracts, Vol. I, p. 429. 

240. Letter from Sir Robert Gary to Lord Hunsdon, Warden 

of the East Marches 411 

Memoirs of the Life of Robert Cary, 1 577-1625, pp. 195-196. 

241. Anecdotes of Queen Elizabeth in letters of the Spanish 

ambassador 412 

Calendar of State Papers, Spanish, 1 580-1586, pp. 573, 206. 

VI. The Close of Elizabeth's Reign 

242. Letter from Sir Henry Sidney to his son Philip ... 412 

Somers^ Tracts, Vol. I, p. 492. 

243. Speech of Queen Elizabeth to parliament, November 

30. 1601 415 

Ibid. p. 244. 

CHAPTER XIV — THE PERSONAL MONARCHY OF 
THE EARLY STUARTS 

L Royal, Parliamentary, and Puritan Theories 

244. Foreign plans of Elizabeth in her last year 418 

Metnoircs dti Due de Sully, Vol. Ill, pp. 349 sgq. Paris, 1827. 

245. Extracts from the Coutiterblaste to Tobacco 420 

Arber, English Reprints, 1869, pp. c)C)sqq. 

2S,(i. The Declaration of Sports 421 

Arber, English Garner, Vol. V, pp. 311 sqq. 

247. A Martin Marprelate tract 423 

Arber, Martin Marprelate, the Epistle, Vol. II, pp. 3-34. 

248. Extracts from the Millenary Petition 425 

Prothero, Statutes and Constitutional Documents, 
pp. 413-414. 



Contents xxiii 

PAGE 

249-250. Opinion of James I as to his powers 426 

Prothero, Statutes and Constitutional Documents, pp. 
293-294, 399-400- 

251. Powers of the king according to Dr. Mainwaring . . . 427 

Ibid. p. 438. 

252. Opinions of the House of Commons on the respective 

powers of king and parliament 428 

Ibid. pp. 286-293. 

II. The Religious Question 

253. The Hampton Court Conference 431 

William Barlow, The Sumtne and Substance of the Con- 
ference at Hampton Court, pp. 78-83. 

254. The Gunpowder Plot 432 

Diary of Walter Yonge, pp, 1-2 ; pub. by The Camden 
Society. 

III. The Spanish Marriage Project 

255-256. Letters from James to Buckingham and the prince 433 
Ellis, Original Letters, Series I, Vol. Ill, pp. 120, 138- 
141. 

257. Letter from Buckingham to King James 435 

Ibid. pp. 146-147. 

258. Letter from an Oxford professor to a friend .... 435 

Ibid. pp. 159-160. 

IV. Francis Bacon and Walter Raleigh 

259. Bacon's Essay On Studies 436 

Arber, English Reprints ; Bacon's Essays, pp. 7-13. 

260. Extract from Raleigh's History of the World .... 438 

Walter Raleigh, Works,^o\.V\, ^p.T/b()sqq.; ed. 1829. 

261. A letter from Raleigh to Prince Henry 439 

Edward Edwards, Life and Letters of Raleigh, Vol. II, 
PP- 330-332- 

262. A letter from Raleigh to his wife 440 

Ibid. pp. 347-349- 

263. Extracts from a contemporary correspondence . . . 441 

Letters of George Lord Carew to Sir Thomas Roe, pp. 10- 
97 ; pub. by The Camden Society. 

V. The Settlement of America 

264. The voyage of the first settlers of Jamestown .... 443 

George Percy, A Discourse of the Plantation of the 
Southern Colonies in Virginia, in Purchas, Pilgrims, 
Vol. XVIII, pp. 403-416. 



xxiv Readings in English History 

PAGE 

265-266. The Pilgrims in England, Holland, and New 

England 446 

Governor Bradford, History of Plimouth Plania- 
tioti, and Governor Winslow, Hipocrisy Un- 
tnasked, in E. Arber, Story of the Pilgrim Fathers, 
pp. 67-332, 334-351- 

VI. Contests between King and Parliament 

267. Letter of King James to the House of Commons, 

December 3, 1621 451 

RusHWORTH, Historical Collections, Vol. I, pp. 43-44. 

268. The Great Protestation of the House of Commons, 

December 18, 1621 452 

Ibid. p. 53. 

269. The death of James and the accession of Charles . 453 

Familiar Letters of James Howell, Book II, Sect. 4, 
Letter vii. 

270. The contentious session of 1625 455 

Autobiography of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, Vol. I, p. 279. 

271. The impeachment of Buckingham, 1626 456 

RusHWORTH, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 307. 

272. Extracts from impeachment speeches 457 

Ibid. pp. 307, 357, 359. 

273. The parliament that adopted the Petition of Right . 457 

Letter from Rev. Joseph Mead to Sir Martin Stute- 
ville, in Court and Times of Charles I. London, 1S48. 

274. Extracts from the Petition of Right, 1628 .... 458 

Statutes of the Realm, Vol. V, pp. 23, 24. 

275. A speech in parliament by Rous, 1629 460 

RusHWORTH, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 657. 

276. A violent scene in parliament 460 

MS. of Lord Verulam, in Archceologia, Vol. XXXVIII, 
pp. 242-244. 

277. The three resolutions of March 2, 1629 462 

RUSHWORTH, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 670. 

VII. The Period of Personal Government of Charles I 

278. Trial and conviction of Prynne in Star Chamber . . 463 

Ibid. Vol. II, pp. 220-233. 

279. Extracts from the first writ of ship money, 1634 . . 465 

Ibid. pp. 257-259. 



Contents xxv 

CHAPTER XV — THE GREAT REBELLION AND THE 
COMMONWEALTH 

I. The Impeachment of Strafiford page 

280. The trial of the earl of Strafford 467 

Letters and Jotcrnals of Robert Baillie, Vol. I, pp. 314 sqq. 

281. A letter of Charles to Strafford 470 

The Earl of Strafford's Letters and Dispatches, Vol. II, 
p. 416 ; ed. by W. Knowler. 

282. Struggle of the king to save Strafford 471 

Whitelocke, Memorials, pp. 43 sq. 

283. A letter of expostulation from the king to parliament . 472 

RusHWORTH, Historical Collections, Vol. IV, p. 265. 

II. The Crisis of 1642 

284. Extracts from the Root and Branch Petition .... 473 

Ibid. p. 93. 

285. The intrusion of the king into the House of Commons 475 

Sir Ralph Verney, Notes of Proceedings in the Long 
Parliament, pp. 137-139; pub. by The Camden Society. 

286. A letter from a Londoner to a friend in the country . 477 

The Trevelyan Papers, Vol. Ill, pp. 216-217 ; pub. by The 
Camden Society. 

287. A letter from the king to an adherent, 1642 478 

Ellis, Original Letters, Series I, Vol. Ill, p. 291. 

III. The Period of the War 

288. Extracts from the Areopagitica 479 

Works of John Milton, Vol. IV, pp. 436-438. London, 
1867. 

289. A letter from Cromwell after the battle of Marston 

Moor, July 5, 1644 481 

Ellis, Origitial Letters, Series I, Vol. Ill, pp. 300-302. 

290. A letter from Cromwell after the battle of Naseby, 

June 14, 1645 4^2 

Ibid. pp. 305-307. 

291-294. Letters from Charles to Henrietta Maria, 1646 . . 483 
Pub. by The Camden Society, pp. 14-16, 18-21, 87. 

IV. The Trial and Execution of the King 

295. The trial of the king 485 

Whitelocke, Memorials, pp. 365 sq. 



xxvi Readings in English History 

PAGE 

296. The sentence of the High Court of Justice upon the 

king 486 

RusHWORTH, Historical Collections, Vol. VII, pp. 1418- 
1419. 

297. Death warrant of Charles I 489 

Ibid. p. 1426. 

298. The king's last night 489 

Warwick, Memoirs of King Chares II, 2d ed., pp. 336 

sqq. 

299. The execution of the king 490 

Whitelocke, Memorials, p. 370, 

300. Two stanzas from a contemporary poem upon Crom- 

well's return from Ireland 491 

A. Marvell, Poetical Works, p. 133. London, 1892. 

301. Y.-^X.xz.ct?, l\om.\.\\& Eikon Basilike 492 

Eikon Basilike, pp. 1-256. 

V. The Commonwealth 

302. Act declaring England a commonwealth, 1649 . . . 495 

ScoBELL, Collection, Vol. II, p. 30. London, 1698. 

303. Extracts from the Instrument of Government, 1653 . . 495 

Parliamentary History, Vol. XX, p. 248. 

304. Extracts from the first Navigation Act, 1651 . . . . 497 

ScoBELL, Collection, pp. 165-170; ed. 1653. 

305. Expulsion of the Long Parliament by Cromwell, 1653 498 

Blencowe, Sydney Papers, p. 139. London, 1825. 

306. A contemporary poem on Cromwell, 1652 499 

Works of John Milton, Vol. I, pp. 166-167. London, 1867. 

307. Extracts from the diary of a Royalist 500 

John Evelyn''s Diary, Vol. I, pp. 16 sqq. London, 1872. 

CHAPTER XVI — RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION 

I. The Restoration Settlement 

308. The Declaration of Breda 505 

Parliamentary History, Vol. XXII, p. 238. 

309. Reception of the Declaration of Breda by parliament . 507 

Parliamentary Intelligeticer, No. 19, pp. 291-293. 

310. The arrival of the restored king in England 508 

Samuel Pefys' Diary, 1660, Vol. I, pp. 155 sqq. London, 
1S97. 

311. Character sketches of the king, the duke of York, 

and the earls of Clarendon and Shaftesbury . . . 511 
Burnet, in Ranke, History of England, Vol. VI, pp. 78-86. 



Contents xxvii 

PAGE 

II. Social Conditions under Charles II 

312. The persecution of Quakers 515 

The Trevelyan Papers, Vol. Ill, pp. 2S9-290 ; pub. by 
The Camden Society. 

313. Sufferings of the Quakers 516 

Joseph Besse, A Collection of the Suferings of the People 
called Quakers, Vol. I, pp. 2S9, 199, 234, 570, 571. Lon- 
don, 1753. 

314. The second Declaration of Indulgence 519 

Adams and Stephens, Select Doctanents of English Con- 
stittttional History, pp. 434 sqq. 

315. Register of events connected with the reduction of New 

Netherlands 520 

Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York, 
Vol. II, pp. 410-414. 

316. Extracts from the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 . . . 522 

Statutes of the Realm, Vol. V, p. 935. 

317. The plague 524 

Saintiel Pepys^ Diary, ibb^,Yo\.\ ,Y)'p.^^sqq. London, 1897. 

318. The great fire 526 

Ibid. pp. 417 sqq. 

319-320. Coffee-houses 529 

Harleian Miscellany, Vol. VI, pp. 465, ^"josqq. 

III. Death of Charles II and Accession of James II 

321. The death of Charles II 532 

Letter of French envoy to Louis XIV, in Dalrymple's Mem- 
o/rj-. Vol. I, App., p. 152. London, 1790. 

322. An epitaph on Charles II 534 

Poems of the Earl of Rochester, p. 75. 

323. The early actions of James II 534 

FouNTAiNHALL, Memoirs, 1685. 

324-327. Letters concerning the rebellion of the duke of 

Monmouth 537 

Ellis, Original Letters, Series I, Vol. Ill, pp. 340-341, 
342, 346. 

328. Statement of the king's powers 538 

Dr. Humphrey Gower, in E. Arber, Story of the Pil- 
grim Fathers, p. 17. 

IV. The Revolution 

329. Declaration of Indulgence of 1687 539 

Adams and Stephens, Select Documents of English Con- 
stitutional History, pp. 451 sqq. 



xxviii Readings in Efiglish History 

PAGB 

330. Petition of the seven bishops 541 

The Humble Petition of Seven Bishops to his Majesty ; a 
Collection of Papers relating to the Present Juncture of 
Affairs in England, No. i. London, 1688. 

331. The invasion of William 543 

Burnet, History of His Own Time, Vol. Ill, pp. 301-328, 
2d ed., 1833. 

332. Extracts from the Bill of Rights 545 

Statutes of the Realm, Vol. VI, pp. 142 sqq. 

333. The passage of the Toleration Act 548 

Burnet, History of His Own Time, Vol. IV, pp. 16-22. 

334. Extracts from the Mutiny Act 549 

Statutes of the Realtn, Vol. VI, pp. 55 sqq. 



CHAPTER XVII— FOUNDATION OF THE BRITISH 
EMPIRE 

1. The Reign of William and Mary 

335. The battle of the Boyne 551 

Burnet, History of His Oum Time, Vol. Ill, pp. 32-93. 

336. The massacre of Glencoe, 1692 ... 554 

An anonymous contemporary account, pp. 103-110; pub. 
by The Clarendon Historical Society, 1885. 

337. Condition of parties under William 556 

Paul Grimblot, Letters of William HI and Louis XIV, 
Vol. I, pp. 466-469. 

338. Negotiations preceding the War of the Spanish Succes- 

sion 55^ 

Ibid. Vol. II, pp. 6-13. 

II. The Reign of Anne 

339. The battle of Blenheim 560 

Coxe, Memoirs of the Duke of Marlborough, Vol. I, pp. 
206-214. 

340. A description of the Dissenters, 1704 562 

Edward Chamberlayne, Angliae Notitiae, or the Pres- 
ent State of England, pp. 252-257. 

341. The point of view of the established church .... 565 

Daniel Defoe, The Shortest Way with Dissenters; ed. 
by E. Arber, English Garner, Later Stuart Tracts, p. 191. 

342. The union with Scotland 5^6 

Statutes of the Realm, Vol. VIII, p. 566; 6 Anne, c. 11. 



Contents xxix 



PAGE 



343. The condition of Ireland 568 

Swift, ^ Short V^iew of the State of Ireland, lyzy, in Works, 
Vol. VII, pp. 115-117; ed. 1824. 

344. The condition of Ireland 569 

Swift, The Present Miserable State of Ireland, \n Works, 
Vol. VII, pp. 194-199. 

III. George I, George II, and Sir Robert Walpole 

345. The characters of George I and George II .... 572 

Lord Chesterfield, Works, Vol. IV, App. pp. 1-7. 

346. Attitude of George II toward England 573 

Lord Hervey, Memoirs, 1735, Vol. II, pp. 29-31 ; ed. 1848. 

347. A letter concerning the South Sea Bubble, 1720 . . 574 

William Pultney to Daniel Pultney, in Memoirs of Sir 
Robert Walpole, Vol. II, p. 194. 

348. A letter from Walpole to Townshend concerning 

secret-service money 575 

Ibid. pp. 469-470. 

349. Opposition to Walpole 576 

Lord Bolingbroke to Sir William Wyndham, Ibid. Vol. Ill, 
P- 555- 

350. Resignation of Walpole 576 

Walpole to the duke of Devonshire, Ibid. pp. 592-593. 

351. Marquis of Hartington to duke of Devonshire . , . 577 

Ibid. p. 593. 

352. Character of Walpole 578 

Lord Chesterfield, Works, Vol. IV, App. pp. 35-41. 

353. Character of Walpole 579 

Pope, in Lord Chesterfield, Works, Vol. IV, App. p. 41. 

IV. The Rebellion of the Young Pretender and the Wes- 

leyan Movement 

354. Letters of Horace Walpole to Sir Horace Mann . . 580 

Letters of Horace Walpole, Vol. I, pp. 384 5-^^. ,■ Vol. II, 
pp. 18-19. 

355. Extracts from Wesley's diary, 1 738-1 760 584 

V^nsi.v.y, Journal, pp. 42-267 ; ed. 1902. 

356. A description of Wesley 589 

Letters of Horace Walpole, Vol. V, pp. 16-17. 



XXX Readings in English History 

PAGB 

V. The Growth of Imperial Interests 

357. The " Black Hole " of Calcutta 590 

Orme, History of the Military Transactions of the British 
Nation in Indosian front the year 1745, Vol. II, Sect, i, 
PP- 74-77- 

358. Treaty between Meer Jaffier and the English .... 592 

Ibid. pp. 161-162. 

359. A French assertion of right to the country west of the 

Alleghenies 593 

Royal Ministerial Minutes, trans, and pub. by E. B. 
O'Callaghan, Documents relati^ig to the Colotiial History 
of Nezv York, Vol. X, pp. 242-243. 

360. Instructions from the English government to the gov- 

ernors of the American colonies. Orders trans- 
mitted by the earl of Holderness 595 

Ibid. Vol. VI, p. 794. 

361. A French account of Braddock's defeat 596 

Ibid. Vol. X, pp. 303-304. 

362. A letter from Wolfe before Quebec 597 

Annual Register, 1759, p. 246. 

363. The capture of Quebec 598 

Captain John Knox, Historical Journal, Vol. II, pp. 66- 
79- 

364. Extracts from the journal of Captain Cook .... 601 

Coon's Voyages of Discovery, pp. 151 sqq.; ed. 1904. 



CHAPTER XVIII— THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, 

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, AND THE 

FRENCH REVOLUTION 

I. George III and the New Ministry 

365. Personal description of George III just before he 

became king 604 

Memoirs of Earl Waldegrave, 1758, pp. 8 sqq. ; ed. 1821. 

366. The young king 605 

Letters of Horace Walpole, Vol. Ill, pp. 356-357. 

367. The resignation of Pitt 606 

Ibid. p. 446. 

368. The character of Pitt 607 

Lord Chesterfield, Works, Vol. IV, App. pp. 63-65. 

369. The character and services of Pitt 608 

Annual Register, 1761, p. 47. 



Contents xxxi 

PAGB 

II. The Industrial Revolution 

370. Observations of Arthur Young in 1768 610 

A Six Weeks' Tour through the Soittherti Comities, pp. 
19-88. Dublin, 1768. 

371. The canals in the north of England 612 

Arthur Young, A Motith^s Tour in Northamptonshire, 
etc. in i7<)i. Annals of Agriculture and Other Useful 
Arts, Vol. XVI, pp. 532-533. 

372. Machine manufacture in the north of England . . . 613 

Letter from a correspondent in Gloucester, i78i,in Annals 
of Agriculture and Other Useful Arts, Vol. XVI, p. 422. 

373. Notice of the death of Richard Arkwright 613 

Gentleman'' s Alagazine and Historical Chronicle, Vol. 
LXII, pt. 2, pp. 770-771. 

374. Importance of the work of James Watt 614 

Francis Jeffrey, in Muirhead, Life of Watt, p. 402. 
New York, 1859. 

III. The Opposition to the Government 

375. The North Briton, No. 45 616 

376-379. Letters concerning the Wilkes troubles .... 618 

Letters of Horace Walpole, Vol. IV, pp. 131-132, 144, 325 ; 
Vol. V, pp. 99-100. 

380. One of the Junius Letters, 1768 622 

Letters ofJu?iius, Vol. Ill, pp. 'J2i~77 i d- i8i4- 

IV. The Struggle with the American Colonies 

381. Speech of Lord Chatham on the troubles in America 623 

John Almond, A7iecdotes of the Life of the Right Hon. 
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, Vol. I, pp. 494-503. 

382. The declaratory act of March, 1766 625 

6 George III, c. 12; Statutes at Large, Vol. X, p. 152. 

383. Speech of Townshend on the taxation of the Ameri- 

can colonies, 1767 626 

Horace Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of George HI, 
Vol. Ill, pp. 28-32 ; ed. by Sir Lewis le Marchant. 

384. A speech by Edmund Burke, 1775 628 

Works, Vol. II, pp. 105-nS. Boston, 1881. 

385. Journal of an American exile in England 631 

Journal and Letters of Samuel Curwen, pp. 61-176 ; ed. by 
G. A. Ward. Boston, 1864. 



xxxii Readiiigs in English History 

PAGE 

386. Letters of George III to Lord North during the Amer- 

ican war 634 

Correspondence cf George the Third with Lord North from 
1768 to 1783, Vol. I, pp. 2-227 ; sd. by W. B. Downe. 

387. The king's acknowledgment of American independence 636 

King's speech on opening parliament, December 5, 1782, 
Annual Register, 17S3, pp. 311-312. 

388. Presentation of the first American minister to England 637 

Letter of John Adams to John Jay from Westminster, June 
2, 1785, in John Adams, Works, Vol. VIII, pp. 255-258. 
Boston, 1853. 

V, Dissatisfaction with the Government 

3S9-390. Discussions and resolutions in parliament . . . 640 
New Annual Register, 1780, pp. 148-153. 

391. The Lord George Gordon riots - 641 

Sir N. W. Wraxall, Historical Memoirs of My Own 
Time, Vol. I, pp. 323-341 ; ed. 1815. 

392. Buying of seats in parliament 644 

Memoirs of Sir Samuel Romilly, Vol. II, pp. 200-202. Lon- 
don, 1840. 

393-394. Buying of seats in parliament 646 

Memoirs and Correspondence of Francis Homer, \'ol. II, 
pp. 127-129. 

VI. The French Revolution and the Wars of Napoleon 

395. Reflections on the Revolution in France 647 

Works of Edmund Burke, Vol. Ill, pp. 240-332. Boston, 
1881. 

396. Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland . .651 

40 George III, c. 67, The Statutes Revised, Vol. II, p. 872. 

397. Act abolishing the slave trade 652 

47 George III, c. 36, Public General Statutes, First Session, 
1807. 

398. The insanity of George III 652 

Diary of Madame D'Arblay, Vol. IV, pp. 235 sgg. London, 
1843. 

399. The insanity of George III 654 

Journals of Madame Papendieck. London, 1887. 

400. Nelson's signal at the battle of Trafalgar 655 

Letter from Captain Pascoe, flag lieutenant on board the 
Victory, in Memoir of Codrington. London, 1873. 

401. Contemporary opinion of Nelson 656 

Robert Southey, Life of Nelson, pp. 312- -!i4. Boston, 
1885. 



Contents xxxiii 

PAGE 

402-403. Contemporary opinions on the duke of Wellington 657 
Parliamentary Debates, Vol. XXXI, pp. 971-993. 

404. The news in England of the capture of Napoleon after 

Waterloo 660 

The London Times, July 25, 1815. 

CHAPTER XIX — THE PERIOD OF REFORM 

I. Contests between Conservatives and Radicals 

405. An appeal to English laborers 663 

William Cobbett, The Weekly Register, Nov. 2, 1816. 
406-407. Letters concerning the riots of 18 12 and 1819 . . 665 

Colonel Lamy to Colonel Lord Rolle, and duke of Welling- 
ton to Lord Sidniouth, in Pellew, Life and Correspofid- 
ence of Lord Sidmonth, Vol. Ill, pp. 88-293. 

408. An account of the Manchester massacre 667 

Sir W. J. H. Joliffe, lieutenant in the 15th Hussars, Ibid, 
pp. 254-257. 

409. Letter of the Prince Regent to Lord Sidmouth . . . 696 

Ibid. p. 262. 

II. Early Reforms 

410. Opinion of the Russian emperor on the English penal 

code 669 

Ibid. p. 120. 

411. Report of a parliamentary committee favoring repeal 

of death penalty for many crimes 670 

Report of Select Committee of the House of Comtnons on 
Criminal Laws, 1820, pp. 352-357. 

412. Testimony to prove inefficiency of the laws .... 673 

Ibid. pp. 358-365. 

413. The age and extent of the Roman Catholic Church . 674 

Lord Macaulay, Essay on Von Ranke's History of the 
Popes, Vol. VI, pp. 454-455. London, 1871. 

414. The desirability of Roman Catholic emancipation . . 676 

Sydney Smith, Peter Plymley^s Letters, Works, p. 452 ; 
ed. 1844. 

415. The Catholic Emancipation Act 678 

10 George IV, c. 7, Statutes at Large, Vol. LXV, pt. 2, 
p. 49. 

III. The Reform Bill of 1832. 

416. The declaration of the duke of Wellington against 

reform 676 

Parliamentary Debates, 3d series. Vol. I, pp. 52-53. 



xxxiv Readings in English History 

PAGE 

417-418. The introduction of the first Reform Bill . . . 680 
Parliamentary Debates, 3d series, Vol. II, pp. 1061-1063, 
1090-11 1 1. 

419. A speech in opposition to the bill 684 

Ibid. Vol. Ill, pp. 115-117. 

420. List of towns to be disfranchised 686 

MOLESWORTH, History of England from i&so to 1874, 
Vol. I, pp. 7S-80 

421. Macaulay's account of the first passage of the first 

Reform Bill 688 

Letter to Rev. Francis Ellis, in Life atid Letters of Lord 
Macaulay, Vol. I, pp. 186-188 ; ed. by G. O. Trevelyan. 

IV. General Reform Legislation 

422. A debate on a proposed factory act, June 6, 1815 . . 690 

Parliatnentary Debates, Vol. XXXI, pp. 624-626. 

423. Testimony given before the parliamentary committee 

of 1832 692 

Charles Wing, Evils of the Factory System, pt. 2, pp. 57- 
58. London, 1S37. 

424. Speech of Michael Sadler on introducing the bill of 

1833 69s 

Ibid. pp. 275-2S4. 

425. The conditions that called for the reform of the post- 

office 697 

Edinburgh Review, January, 1840, pp. 554-556. 

V. Queen Victoria 

426. The coronation of Queen Victoria 699 

C. C. F. Greville, Clerk of the Council, A Journal of the 
Reign of Queen Victoria, Vol. I, pp. 92-94. 

427. Queen Victoria's engagement and marriage .... 701 

A letter to her uncle the king of Belgium, in Queen 
Victoria, Memoirs of the Prince Consort, pp. 188-189; 
compiled by Hon. C. Grey, 1867. 

VI. Chartism and the Corn Laws 

428. The first Chartist petition, 1838 702 

R. G. Gammage, History of the Chartist Movement, 
pp. 87-90. 

429. Comment by a contemporary on the Chartist move- 

ment 704 

C. C. F. Greville, Clerk of the Council, A Journal of the 
Reign of Queen Victoria, Vol. II, pp. 298-321. 

430 Poetic attacks on the aristocracy 708 

Ebenezer Elliott, Corn-Law Rhymes, Vol. I, pp. 73-97. 
London, 1834. 



Contents xxxv 

PAGE 

431. A laborer's mass meeting, 1846 710 

The London Times, January 7, 1846. 

432. The first appearance of the potato blight in England . 713 

Memoirs of Sir Robert Peel, Vol. II, pp. 109-110; pub. by 
Lord Mahon and Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. 
London, 1857. 

433. A letter concerning the potato blight and the corn 

laws 714 

Ibid, pp: 114-115. 

434. A free-trade resolution in the House of Commons . . 715 

Parliametitary Debates, 3d series, Vol. 123, p. 458. 

CHAPTER XX — THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY 
I. The Middle Years of the Century 

435. Scenes from the Sepoy rebellion 716 

HoDDER, Twelve Years of a Soldier^ s Life in India, pp. 
230-291. 

436. Proclamation of Queen Victoria in India in 1858 . . 721 

Anm/al Register, 1859, pp. 203-205. 

437. Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone in 1838 723 

Grant, Random Recollections of the Lords and the Com- 
mons, pp. 149-152. 

438. Observations in the House of Commons in 1854. . . 726 

W. W. Brown, Sketches of Places and People Abroad, 
pp. 285-293. 

11. England and the Civil War in America 

439. Speech of John Bright on the Trent affair 729 

James E. Thorold Rogers, Speeches on Questions of 
Public Policy by Right Hon. John Bright, pp. 85-99. 
London, 1869. 

440. Poem on the death of Lincoln 734 

London Punch, May 6, 1865. 

III. The Completion of Parliamentary Reform 

441. A debate in the House of Commons on the Reform 

Bill of 1866 735 

Annual Register, 1866, pp. 1 15-135. 

442. The law abolishing religious tests at the universities . 739 

34 and 35 Victoria, c. 26. 

443. The law establishing free public schools 741 

Elementary Education Act of 1870; 33 and 34 Victoria, 
c. 75, par. 5-7. 



xxxvi Readings in English History 

PAGE 

444. The law legalizing trade unions 742 

Trade Union Act of 1871 ; 34 and 35 Victoria, c. 31, par. 
2, 3. 6, 7, II- 

445. Report to parliament of a committee on trade unions . 743 

Eleventh Report of the Royal Commissioners, i8bq, Vol. I, 
pp. xxxii-xliii. 

446. An attack on the House of Lords 747 

Letters of Right Hon. John Bright, pp. 224-225 ; ed. by 
H. J. Leech, 1895 

IV. Irish Home Rule 

447. The Irish Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons . 748 

John Morley, Life of Gladstone, Vol. Ill, pp. 307-340, 
559-560. 

448. A poem in favor of reconciliation 751 

William Watson, England to Ireland, February, 1888. 

V. The British Empire 

449. An opinion adverse to colonization 752 

Sir John Sinclair, History of the Public Revenue of the 
British Empire, Vol. II, p. 87. 

450. An argument against colonization in 1830 753 

Sir Henry Parnell, On Financial Reform, pp. 250-257. 
London, 1830. 

451. Opposition to the English colonial system 755 

Anonymous, in Wakefield, Art of Colonization, pp. 283- 
288. 

452. Extracts from Lord Durham's report on Canada . . 757 

Earl of Durham, Report on the Affairs of British North 
America, pp. 4-228; ed. 1902. 

453. An argument in favor of retaining the colonies . . . 762 

W. E. FORSTER, Address to the Edinburgh Philosophical 
Institution, The London Times, November 6, 1875. 

454. An imperialistic sonnet 764 

William Watson, To the Colonies, April, 1885. 

455. An ode on the colonies 765 

Algernon Charles Swinburne, England; an Ode, 
in Astrophel and Other Odes. 

456. An imperialist article 7^6 

The London Speaker, June 26, 1897. 

457. The significance of the Diamond Jubilee 767 

The New York Times, 1897. 



READINGS IN 
ENGLISH HISTORY 

CHAPTER I 
THE GEOGRAPHY OF ENGLAND 

I. Accounts by Ancient Geographical Observers 

The location, the shape, the surface, the climate, and 
the natural productions of England having remained 
much the same in all ages are no better described in 
early writers than in those of the present day. Indeed, 
their opportunities for observation and their scientific 
training in geography were so much less, that it is to 
modern, not to ancient, authors that we must look for 
accurate and full descriptions. Nevertheless, it is a 
matter of interest to see what was the geographical 
knowledge concerning England of those who lived 
when its history was opening. Its most prominent 
features were noticed and described by the earliest 
travelers that reached Britain from the continent. Its 
island character, its triangular shape, its long days in 
summer and long nights in winter, its high tides, its 
forests, its productions of tin, grain, and cattle, are 
mentioned by one after another of the Greek and Ro- 
man writers to whom it seemed a distant and strange 
land, — almost another continent. 



2 Readings in English Histofy 

Julius Caesar, who began to make inquiries about 
Britain in the summer of 55 B.C., and visited it for the 
first time in the fall of that year, describes several of 
these characteristics, though he saw only its south- 
eastern portion, and makes many mistakes. 

1. Caesar's The island is triangular in form, one side facing Gaul. Of 
de^ription ^j^jg gj^jg Qj^g angle, which is in Kent, where almost all the 

ships land from Gaul, looks toward the east ; the lower angle 
of this same side lies towards the south. Its length is about five 
hundred miles. The second side of the triangle faces Spain and 
the west. On this side lies Ireland, an island, as is thought, 
only half as large as Britain, but separated from it by a dis- 
tance as great as that of Britain from Gaul. Midway between 
the two there is an island which is called Mona. Many other 
islands as well are supposed to lie opposite this coast ; con- 
cerning these some say that at the time of the winter solstice 
there is night continuously for thirty days. We found none of 
these things on inquiry, except we discovered by exact meas- 
urement of the water clock that the nights were longer than 
ours on the continent. The length of this side according to 
their opinion is 700 miles. The third side of the triangle 
faces the north. No land is directly opposite, but the angle 
of this side points towards Germany. This is thought to be 
800 miles in length. Thus the entire island is in circumference 
2000 miles. 

Diodorus Siculus, a Greek traveler and historian, was 
born in Sicily, but lived many years at Rome. He 
wrote in Greek, about ten years after Caesar's invasion 
of Britain, and gives an interesting account of the pro- 
duction of tin in Britain and its export to the continent. 

2. Account Opposite that part of Gaul which borders on the ocean, 
by Diodorus ^nd directly across from the Hercynian forests, reported to 

be the largest in Europe, lie many islands. The largest of 
these is called Britain. In early times this remained free from 



The GeograpJiy of England 3 

foreign influence ; for neither Bacchus nor Hercules nor any of 
the other heroes or mighty men, so far as we know, waged 
war with it. In our time, indeed, Caius Caesar, who has ob- 
tained the name of a god because of his great deeds, became 
the first one of all those whose memory is preserved to reduce 
the island to subjection, and to force the conquered Britons 
to pay a fixed tribute. These things will be recounted in 
detail in their own place ; at this time we shall speak a few 
words about the island and the tin taken from it. It is triangu- The shape 
lar in shape, the same as Sicily, but its sides are unequal. Since ^"^ ^'^^ '^'^ 
it extends obliquely from Europe the headland next the con- 
tinent, which they call Cantium, is only about one hundred 
stadia from the mainland, at which place a strait runs between. 
A second angle, Belerium by name, is four days' sail from the 
continent. The last, called Orca, is said to project out into the 
sea. The shortest side faces Europe and measures 7500 stadia; 
the second, extending from the channel to the extreme north, is 
said to be 15,000 stadia in length ; while the last side measures 
20,000 stadia ; so the entire circumference of the island is 
42,500 stadia. 

They allege that the residents are the original inhabitants 
who still retain their primitive manners and customs. For in 
their battles they use chariots in the same manner as it is re- 
ported the ancient Greek heroes fought in the Trojan War. 
They live in small huts usually built of reeds or wood. When 
they have reaped their grain they store the ears cut from the 
stalk in underground storehouses. From thence they take as 
much of the oldest as will be needed for the day, and after 
grinding it they prepare their food from it. Their customs are 
simple, being far removed from the craftiness and wickedness 
of our time. They are content with frugal fare and do not have 
the desires which come with riches. The island has a large 
population, and has a cold climate, since it stretches so far to the 
north, lying directly under the Great Bear. Many kings and 
chieftains rule there, usually keeping peace among themselves. 

Concerning their institutions, and other things peculiar to The produc- 
the island, we shall speak specially when we come to the ex- *^°" °^ *"^ 
pedition of Caesar into Britain. At this time we shall treat of 



Readings iti English History 



3. Descrip- 
tion by 
Tacitus 



the tin which is dug from the ground. Those who dwell near 
Belerium, one of the headlands of Britain, are especially fond 
of strangers, and on account of their trade with the merchants 
they have a more civilized manner of living. They collect the 
tin after the earth has been skillfully forced to yield it. Although 
the land is stony, it has certain veins of earth from which they 
melt and purify the metal which has been extracted. After 
making this into bars they carry it to a certain island near 
Britain called Ictis. For although the place between is for 
the most part covered with water, yet in the middle there is 
dry ground, and over this they carry a great amount of tin in 
wagons. . . . Thence the merchants carry into Gaul the tin 
which they have bought from the inhabitants. And after a 
journey of thirty days on foot through Gaul, they convey their 
packs carried by horses to the mouths of the Rhone River. 

By the time of Tacitus, who wrote the following 
account of Britain about a.d. 100, the island was quite 
familiar to the Romans, and he is therefore more inter- 
ested in describing its distant parts, those now known 
as Scotland, which had but recently been explored. He 
still repeats the mistaken belief of all the ancients that 
Spain extended so far to the north that it lay to the 
west of Britain. It is evident that but few voyages 
could have been made by sea all the way from the 
Mediterranean to Britain or this mistake would have 
been corrected. 

Since the geography and the peoples of Britain have been 
already treated by many writers, I shall speak, not with the 
idea of vying with these authors in art or genius, but because 
it was at this time first thoroughly subdued. Those things 
which former writers, not fully comprehending, embeUished' 
with their eloquence, will be set <lowcv with historical accuracy. 
Britain, the largest of the islands known to the Romans, as 
regards its geographical situation, on the east faces Germany, 
on the west Spain, and is even visible on the south to the 



The Geography of England 5 

Gauls ; the north of the island has no land opposite, and is 
washed by a vast and open sea. Livy, one of the most gifted 
authors of ancient times, and Fabius Rusticus, of modern times, 
have compared the form of the whole island to a trapezoid or 
a two-edged ax. As a matter of fact this is its appearance on 
this side of Caledonia, whence the report arose for the whole ; 
but when you have entered this enormous and shapeless tract 
of land stretching to a great length, it narrows to a wedge. 

The Roman fleet, borne then for the first time about this 
coast, lying so far away, confirmed the assertion that Britain 
was an island, at the same time discovering and conquering 
hitherto unknown islands, which they called the Orcades. 
Thule was seen from a distance only, because the orders went 
no further and winter was approaching. But they assert that 
the sea is sluggish and hard for the rowers, and not even by 
the winds is it stirred up as other seas. I suppose that this is 
so because the land and mountains, the cause and origin of 
storms, are rare, and the great mass of water of one continuous 
sea is not easily disturbed. . . . 

The sky is gloomy with many clouds, and showers are fre- The long 
quent ; but the severity of cold seasons is absent. The length ^'^\'^ J" 
of day is longer than in our latitude. The night in the extreme 
north of Britain is clear and short, so that one scarcely dis- 
tinguishes the end and the beginning of the daylight, so slight 
is the interval between. If the clouds tio not prevent, the glow 
of the sun is visible through the night, nor does the sun rise 
and set, but merely passes along the horizon. In fact the ex- 
treme and flat parts of the land with their low relief do not 
cast shadows, and so night falls below the sky and stars. The 
land abounds in fruits, except the olive and the vine, together 
with some other things accustomed to grow in warmer climates : 
although these sprout quickly, they ripen slowly. The reason 
for both is the same, the great dampness of the land and at- 
mosphere. Britain produces gold, silver, and other metals, the 
rewards of victory. The ocean yields pearls, but they are dis- 
colored and dull. Certain people think that those who gather 
them are lacking in skill ; for in the Red Sea they are torn 
from the rocks ahve and glowing, while in Britain they are 



6 Readings in English History 

collected just as they have been cast up on the shore. I can 
believe more easily, however, that the quality is lacking in the 
pearls than that we fail in covetousness. 

Although the monk Gildas wrote some five hundred 
years after Tacitus, and more than six hundred years 
after Caesar, the same mistake is still made about the 
size of Britain, which the ancients had always over- 
estimated. 

4. Account The island of Britain, situated on almost the utmost border 
by Gildas, q£ ^^ earth, towards the south and west, and poised in the 

divine balance, so to speak, which supports the whole world, 
stretches out from the southwest towards the north pole, and 
is eight hundred miles long and two hundred broad, ex- 
cept where the headlands of sundry promontories stretch 
farther into the sea. It is surrounded by the ocean, which 
forms winding bays, and is strongly defended by this ample 
and, if I may so call it, impassable barrier, save on the south 
side, where the narrow sea affords a passage to Belgic Gaul. 

II. Accounts by Modern Observers 

Later travelers observed various geographical fea- 
tures, as, for instance, Paul Hentzner, a German, who 
visited England in 1598 and was much struck with the 
grass-covered "downs." 

5. A six- The soil is fruitful and abounds with cattle, which inclines 
t^^°*t'av°' ^^^ inhabitants rather to feeding than plowing, so that near 
eler's account a third part of the land is left uncultivated for grazing. There 

are many hills without one tree, or any spring, which produce 
a very short and tender grass, and supply plenty of food to 
sheep ; upon these wander numerous flocks, extremely white, 
and w^hether from the temperature of the air or the goodness of 
the earth, bearing softer and finer fleeces than those of any 
other country : this is the true Golden Fleece, in which con- 
sist the chief riches of the inhabitants, great sums of money 



The Geography of England . 7 

being brought into the island by merchants, chiefly for that 
article of trade. 

Modern historians have laid great stress on the geog- 
raphy of England as connected with its history. Mr. 
Green, from whose Making of England the following 
extracts are taken, knew the country well, and continu- 
ally refers to its physical features, especially in describ- 
ing its early history. 

A wild and half-reclaimed country, the bulk of whose sur- 6. Green's 

face was occupied by forest and waste. The rich and lower "inscription 
. . . . . of the coun- 

soil of the river valleys, indeed, which is now the favorite home try as it was 

of agriculture, had in the earliest times been densely covered in the Roman 
with primeval scrub ; and the only open spaces were those ^^"° 
whose nature fitted them less for the growth of trees, — the 
chalk downs and oolitic uplands that stretched in long lines 
across the face of Britain from the Channel to the North- 
ern Sea. 

Such spaces were found, above all, at the extremities of the 
great chalk ranges which give form and character to the 
scenery of southern Britain. Halfway along our southern 
coast, the huge block of upland which we know as Salisbury 
Plain and the Marlborough Downs rises in gentle undulations 
from the alluvial flat of the New Forest to the lines of escarp- 
ment which overlook the vale of Pewsey and the upper basin 
of the Thames. From the eastern side of this upland, three 
ranges of heights run athwart southern Britain to the north- 
east and the east, the first passing from the Wiltshire Downs 
by the Chilterns to the uplands of East Anglia, while the second 
and third diverge to form the North Downs of Surrey and the 
South Downs of Sussex. At the extremities of these lines of 
heights the upland broadens out into spaces which were seized 
on from the earliest times for human settlement. The downs 
of our Hampshire formed a " gwent," or open clearing, whose 
name still lingers in its " Gwentceaster," or Winchester ; while 
the upland which became the later home of the North-folk 
and South-folk formed another and a broader " gwent," which 



8 Readings in English History 

gave its name to the Gwenta of the Iceni, the predecessor of 
our Norwich. The North Downs, as they neared the sea, wid- 
ened out, in their turn, into a third upland that still preserves 
its name of the Caint or Kent, and whose broad front ran from 
the cliffs of Thanet to those of Dover and Folkestone. Free 
spaces of the same character were found on the Cotswolds or 
on the wolds of Lincoln and York ; and in all we find traces 
of early culture and of the presence of a population which has 
passed away as tillage was drawn to richer soils. . . . 
Forests and But even at the close of the Roman rule the clearings along 
^^"s |.j^g river valleys were still mere strips of culture which threaded 

their way through a mighty waste. To realize the Britain of 
the Roman age, we must set before us the Poland or northern 
Russia of our own : a country into whose tracts of forest man 
is still hewing his way, and where the clearings round town or 
village hardly break the reaches of silent moorlands or as silent- 
fens. The wolf roamed over the long " desert " that stretched 
from the Cheviots to the Peak. Beavers built in the streams 
of marshy hollows, such as that which reached from Beverly to 
Ravenspur. The wild bull wandered through forest after forest 
from Ettrick to Hampstead. Though the Roman engineers 
won fields from Romney Marsh on the Kentish coast, nothing 
broke the solitude of the peat bogs which stretched up the 
Parrett into the heart of Somersetshire, of the swamp which 
struck into the heart of the island along the lower Trent, or of 
the mightier fen along the eastern coast, the Wash, which then 
ran inland up the Witham all but to Lincoln, and up the Nen 
and the Cam as far as Huntingdon and Cambridge. 

But neither moor nor fen covered so vast a space of Britain 
as its woods. The wedge of forest and scrub that filled the 
hollow between the North and South Downs stretched in an 
unbroken mass for a hundred and twenty miles, from Hamp- 
shire to the valley of the Medway ; but, huge as it was, this 
" Andredsweald " was hardly greater than other of the wood- 
lands which covered Britain. A line of thickets along the 
shore of the Southampton Water linked it with as large a 
forest tract to the west, a fragment of which survives in our 
New Forest, but which then bent away through the present 



The Geography of England 9 

Dorsetshire and spread northward round the western edge of 
the Wiltshire Downs to the valley of the Frome. The line of 
the Severn was blocked above Worcester by the forest of Wyre, 
which extended northward to Cheshire ; while the Avon skirted 
the border of a mighty woodland, of which Shakespeare's Arden 
became the dwindled representative, and which all but covered 
the area of the present Warwickshire. Away to the east the 
rises of Highgate and Hampstead formed the southern edge of 
a forest tract that stretched without a break to the Wash, and 
thus almost touched the belt of woodland w^hich ran athwart 
Mid-Britain in the forests of Rockingham and Charnwood, and 
in the Brunewald of the Lincoln heights. The northern part 
of the province was yet wilder and more inaccessible than the 
part to the south; for while Sherwood and Needwood filled 
the space between the Peak and the Trent, the Vale of York 
was pressed between the moorlands of Pickering and the waste 
or " desert " that stretched from the Peak of Derbyshire*to the 
Roman wall ; and beyond the wall to the Forth the country 
was little more than a vast wilderness of moorland and wood- 
land which later times knew as the forest of Selkirk. 



CHAPTER II 
PREHISTORIC AND CELTIC BRITAIN 

I. The First Contact of the Romans with the Britons 

Caesar himself gives the following' account of his two 
famous invasions of Britain, in the years 55 B.C. and 
54 B.C., and with this account the written history of 
the country begins. 

7. CjBsar'8 No one had had any communication with the Britons except 

first inva- ^y^Q n-jerchants, and even they knew nothing except the coast 
sion, 55 B.C. ■' o tr 

region and those parts which lie opposite Gaul. Caesar there- 
fore summoned the merchants from all sides, but was unable 
to find out the size of the island, or what nations inhabited it, 
how large these nations were, what skill they possessed in war, 
what customs they followed, or what harbors were suitable for 
a number of large ships. 

He thought it best to obtain information before he should 
incur any risk, and sent Caius Volusenus ahead with a war 
galley, commanding him to ascertain the truth and return to 
him as soon as possible. , . . Volusenus inspected all those 
regions as carefully as any one could who did not dare to leave 
his ship or join battle with the barbarians. On the fifth day he 
returned to Ceesar and announced to him what he had seen 
there. . . . 

When Caesar had collected and furnished about eighty trans- 
ports, as many as he judged necessary to carry two legions, he 
gave the war galleys which he had to the quaestor, the lieuten- 
ants, and the prefects. Added to these were eighteen trans- 
ports which were detained eight miles away by the wind ; these 
he assigned to the cavalry. After he had arranged these matters, 
meeting with a favorable wind he set sail about the third watch ; 



Prehistoric and Celtic Britain 1 1 

he ordered the cavalry to go to the farther port, set sail, and 
follow him. While these orders were being executed by them 
rather slowly, Caesar himself reached Britain about the third 
hour of the day with the first of the ships, and there saw the 
forces of the enemy ready armed and drawn up in line of 
battle on all the hills. The nature of this place was such, and 
so closely bounded was the sea by the cliffs, that a weapon 
could be hurled from the heights to the beach. Since he con- 
sidered this place by no means suitable for disembarking, he 
waited at anchor up to the ninth hour, until the rest of the 
boats should arrive. . . . When he obtained a suitable wind 
and tide at the same time, at a given signal he weighed anchor 
and advanced about seven miles from this place, where he drew 
up his ships on a low-lying open coast. But the barbarians, as 
soon as they recognized the plans of the Romans, sent forward 
their cavalry and charioteers, which they were accustomed to 
use in battle. They themselves following prevented our soldiers First contests 
from disembarking. Serious difficulties arose, for several rea- between the 

"... 1 , • 11 , 1 Britons and 

sons ; on account of their size the ships could not be moored the Romans 
except in deep water, the soldiers were depressed by their 
ignorance of the place, and their hands were encumbered 
by the heavy weight of their arms. At one time they were 
obliged to leap from the boats, stand in the waves, and fight 
with their opponents, while the enemy, either on dry ground or 
standing only in shallow water, with free hands, in a locality 
well known to them were boldly hurling weapons and spurring 
forward their horses trained to this kind of battle. Our men, 
terrified by all this and entirely unaccustomed to this method 
of warfare, did not show their customary quickness and zeal. 

When Ccesar noticed this he ordered the war galleys, whose 
appearance was rather strange to the barbarians and whose 
motion was swifter, to be removed a little from the transports 
and rowed forward, in order that they might be brought up on 
the open flank of the enemy and the latter be driven away by 
the slings, arrows, and missiles. This was of great assistance 
to our soldiers. The barbarians, greatly disturbed by the form of 
the boats, by the speed of the rowers, by the unusual kind of 
missiles, stopped their advance and even retreated a little. . . . 



12 Readings i?i English His toy 

Difficult The battle was fiercely contested on each side. Our men 

position of ^ygj.g thrown into much disorder, as they were unable to 
preserve their ranks, to stand firmly, or to keep near their 
standards, so that men from the various ships gathered under 
whatever standards they happened to be near; since the 
enemy knew the shallow places, whenever from the shore 
they saw separate soldiers coming from the ships they spurred 
on their horses and attacked them while they were in diffi- 
culty; several kept surrounding a few; some on the unpro- 
tected side were hurling weapons against all of our soldiers. 
When Caesar noticed this he ordered the skiffs from the war 
galleys and likewise the reconnoitering boats to be filled with 
soldiers, and sent them to help those whom he saw in difficulty. 
As soon as our men stood on dry ground and their comrades 
had joined them, they made an attack upon the enemy, putting 
them to flight ; but they were not able to follow very far, since 
the cavalrymen had been unable to hold to their course and to 
make the island. Caesar's usual fortune failed him in this point 
alone. Since the enemy were overcome in this battle, as soon as 
they recovered from their flight they immediately sent ambassa- 
dors to Caesar concerning peace. 

The first invasion of Caesar had been begun very late 
in the summer, and he had intended it rather as an 
armed exploration than as an attempt at conquest. 
The expedition of the next year was undertaken much 
more deliberately and carried out much more seriously. 
Even at this time, however, the Roman army did not 
penetrate nearly so far as the center of the country, and 
withdrew after a three months' campaign. Therefore, 
although the Britons and the Romans were thus brought 
into contact, and our continuous knowledge of the his- 
tory of the island begins, the Roman period proper does 
not open till almost a century later. 

After the completion of these things, Caesar left Labienus 
on the continent with three legions and with two thousand 



Prehistoric and Celtic Britain 13 

horsemen to protect the harbors, to provide for the grain supply, 8. Caesar's 

to observe what was taking place in Gaul, and to exercise his ®®^°° ^^^" 
° ^ ' sion, 54 B.C. 

judgment in plans suited to occasion and circumstance. He 
himself set sail at sunset with five legions and a force of cav- 
alry equal to that which he had left on the continent. After 
being carried on by a gentle southwest wind, about midnight 
the wind ceased and he was not able to hold to the course. 
Carried too far by the tide, at daybreak he found Britain lying 
behind him on his left. Again the tide changed and he hastened 
with oars to make that part of the island where he had learned 
the previous summer there was an excellent landing. In this 
the bravery of the soldiers must be praised, since with heavily 
laden transports they with ceaseless rowing equaled the speed 
of the war galleys. They approached Britain with all their 
ships about midday and not an enemy was seen in the place ; 
though, as Caesar afterwards learned from the captives, great 
bands of them had assembled there, but terrified by the vast 
number of ships (for with the ships of the previous year and 
with the private vessels which each had made for his own pleas- 
ure, more than eight hundred were seen at one time), they had 
left the shore and hidden themselves in the higher places. 

When Caesar had landed his army and chosen a place suit- Forest fight- 
able for a camp, he learned from captives where the forces of ^"S °^ ^^^ 

11 1 » r 1 ■ /-^ • A • • Britons 

the enemy had encamped. After placmg Qumtus Atrius m 
charge of ten cohorts and three hundred cavalrymen near the sea 
to guard the ships, about the third watch he hastened towards 
the enemy, fearing little for the safety of these ships because 
he had left them anchored on an open and gently sloping 
coast. By night he had marched about twelve miles and came 
in sight of the enemy's forces. The latter, advancing from their 
higher position towards the river with their cavalry and chariots, 
sought to check the forward movement of our men, and to join 
battle. Repulsed by our cavalry they fled to the forests, to a 
place excellently fortified both by nature and art, and which, 
as was seen later, they had prepared before this time for the 
purpose of defense in their own tribal wars, for all the 
entrances were closed by barricades of trees cut for this pur- 
pose. The enemy in small detachments kept rushing from 



14 Rcadiiigs in English History 

these fortifications to fight, and prevented our men from enter- 
ing their stronghold. But the soldiers of the seventh legion, 
forming a testiido, and throwing up a mound opposite the 
fortification, took the place, and after receiving a few wounds 
drove the enemy from the forest. Caesar forbade his men to 
follow the enemy in flight too far both because he was ignorant 
of the locality and because he wished time to be left for forti- 
fying the camp, and it was already late in the day. . . . 

As soon as Csesar learned their plans, he led his army 
towards the Thames River into the territory of Cassivellaunus ; 
this river can be forded only in one place and there only with 
difificulty. When he arrived there he noticed that on the other 
side of the stream the enemy was drawn up in line of battle. 
Besides, the bank of the river was fortified by sharpened stakes 
which had been driven into the ground above the water level, 
and stakes of the same kind were fastened in the river bed 
below the water. When Caesar learned of these things from 
captives and fugitives he sent the cavalry ahead and ordered 
the legions to follow immediately. But the soldiers went with 
such speed and force that although only their heads were 
above the water, the enemy could not withstand their attack, 
and, withdrawing from the bank, fled precipitately. 

Two letters from Cicero written to his friend Atticus in 
the fall of the year 54 b.c. give a glimpse of the way Cae- 
sar's invasion of Britain looked to contemporary Romans. 

9. Cicero to The outcome of the war in Britain is being awaited. For it 
Atticus jg certain that the approaches to the island are guarded with 

wonderful strength. Moreover it is now known that there is 
not an ounce of silver in that island, nor any hope of booty 
except of slaves. Of these I do not believe you need expect 
any trained in letters, music, or poetry. 

10. Cicero to I received, October 24, letters from my brother Quintus and 
Atticus ixQ,\x\ Caesar, dated on the nearest shore of Britain, Septem- 
ber 26. Britain was subdued, hostages had been received, and 
although no money booty had been obtained, the army was 
being brought back from Britain. 



Prehistoric and Celtic Britain 15 

II. The Customs of the Britons 

Caesar with his usual keenness observed the Britons 
and made inquiries about them at the same time that he 
was carrying on war with them. The results of his in- 
vestigations as he gives them in his narrative, incorrect 
as some of his statements probably are, furnish us our 
first satisfactory information concerning the inhabitants 
of the island of Britain. 

The inland portions of Britain are inhabited by those who u. Caesar's 
themselves say that according to tradition they are natives of description 
the soil ; the coast regions are peopled by those who crossed Britons 
from Belgium for the purpose of making war. Almost all of 
these are called by the names of those states from which they 
are descended and from which they came hither. After they 
had waged war they remained there and began to cultivate the 
soil. The island has a large population, with many buildings 
constructed after the fashion of the Gauls, and abounds in 
flocks. For money they use either gold coins or bars of iron 
of a certain weight. Tin is found in the inland regions, iron 
on the seacoast ; but the latter is not plentiful. They use 
imported bronze. All kinds of wood are found here, as in 
Gaul, except the beech and fir trees. They consider it con- 
trary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken, or the goose. 
They raise these, however, for their own amusement and pleas- 
ure. The climate is more temperate than in Gaul, since there 
are fewer periods of cold. . . . 

By far the most civilized are those who dwell in Kent. 
Their entire country borders on the sea, and they do not differ 
much from the Gauls in customs. Very many who dwell farther 
inland do not sow grain but live on milk and flesh, clothing 
themselves in skins. All the Britons paint themselves with 
woad, which produces a dark blue color ; and for this reason 
they are much more frightful in appearance in battle. They 
permit their hair to grow long, shaving all parts of the body 
except the head and the upper lip. Ten and twelve have wives 



"? « 



i6 



Readings in English History 



common among them, especially brothers with brothers and 
parents with children ; if any children are born they are con- 
sidered as belonging to those men to whom the maiden was 
first married. . . . 
Fighting This is their manner of fighting from chariots. At first the 

romcianots charioteers ride in all directions, usually throwing the ranks 
into confusion by the very terror caused by the horses, as well 
as by the noise of the wheels ; then as soon as they have come 
between the squads of horsemen, they leap from the chariots 
and fight on foot. The drivers of the chariots then withdraw 
a little from the battle and place the chariots together, so that 
if the warriors are hard pressed by the number of the enemy, 
they have a safe retreat to their own. Their horsemen possess 
such activity and their foot soldiers such steadfastness in battle 
and they accomplish so much by daily training that on steep 
and even precipitous ground they are accustomed to check 
their excited horses, to control and turn them about quickly, 
to run out on the pole, to stand on the yoke, and then swiftly 
to return to the chariot. 

Strabo, a Greek writer who traveled widely about the 
beginning of the Christian era, gives in his Geography 
the following description of the Britons and some of their 
customs, as he knew of them some fifty years after the 
time of Caesar. 



12. strabo 
on the cus- 
toms of the 
Britons 



The men are taller than the Gauls, with hair less yellow, 
and are slighter in their persons. As an instance of their height 
I myself saw at Rome some youths who were taller by as much 
as half a foot than the tallest there; but they were badly 
shaped in their lower limbs, and in other respects not sym- 
metrical in their conformation. Their manners are in part 
like those of the Gauls, though in part more simple and bar- 
barous ; insomuch that some of them, though possessing 
plenty of milk, have not skill enough to make cheese, and are 
totally unacquainted with horticulture and other matters of 
husbandry. There are several states among them. In their 
wars they make use of chariots for the most part, as do some of 



Prehistoric and Celtic Britain 17 

the Gauls. Forests are their cities : for having inclosed an 
ample space with felled trees, here they make themselves huts 
and lodge their cattle, though not for any long continuance. 
Their atmosphere is more subject to rain than to snow ; 
even in their clear days the mist continues a considerable time, 
insomuch that throughout the whole day the sun is only visible 
for three or four hours about noon time, and this must be the 
case also among the Morini and the Menapii, and among all 
the neighboring peoples. The deified Csesar twice passed over Caesar's inef- 
to the island, but quickly returned, having effected nothing of ^^ctive cam- 
importance, nor proceeded far mto the country, as well on 
account of some commotions in Gaul, both among his own 
soldiers and among the barbarians, as because of the loss of 
many of his ships at the period of the full moon, when both 
the ebb and flow of the tides were greatly increased. Never- 
theless he gained two or three victories over the Britons, 
although he had transported thither only two legions of his 
army, and brought away hostages, slaves, and much other 
booty. 

At the present time, however, some of the princes, having 
by their embassies and court gained the friendship of Caesar 
Augustus, have dedicated their offerings at the Capitol, and 
have brought the whole island into a state little short of inti- 
mate union with the Romans. They bear moderate taxes, laid 
both on the imports and the exports from Gaul ; which are 
ivory bracelets and necklaces, amber, and vessels of glass, and 
such like mean merchandise. Wherefore the island would be 
hardly worth a garrison, for it would require at least one legion 
and some cavalry to enforce tribute from them ; and the total 
expenditure for the army would be equal to the additional 
revenue, since if a tribute were levied, the imposts must of 
necessity be diminished, and at the same time some dangers 
must be incurred if force were to be employed. 

There are also other small islands around Britain, and one Ireland 
of great extent, Hibernia, lying parallel to it towards the 
north, long or rather wide, concerning which we have nothing 
positive to remark, further than that its inhabitants are more 
savage than the Britons. . . . The account of Thule is still 



\ 



1 8 Readings in English History 

more vague because of its secluded situation, for it is con- 
sidered to be the farthest away of all lands of which the names 
are known. 

Cornelius Tacitus, from whom the following extract 
is taken, as well as the description of Britain already 
given and some passages to follow later, was much inter- 
ested in Britain from the fact that he had married the 
daughter of Agricola, the greatest of the Roman gov- 
ernors of that country. He wrote his Life of Agricola 
about A.D. lOO. 

13. Tacitus As is so often the case among barbarians, it is difificult to say 

on the origin whether the men who first dwelt in Britain are indigenous or 
ter of the whether they came thither. We may deduce arguments from 
Britons the fact that their physical characteristics differ. For the 

reddish-yellow hair of the inhabitants of Caledonia, as well 
as their sturdy limbs, point to a German origin ; the swarthy 
complexion and curly hair of the Silures, together with their 
position opposite Gaul, make us believe that the Iberians in 
ancient times crossed over and seized these territories. Those 
who are nearest to the Gauls resemble them, whether from 
the persistence of heredity, or whether, since the lands stretch 
out opposite each other, the climate has given the same 
character to the individuals. Forming a general judgment, 
however, it is credible that the Gauls seized the neighboring 
island. One sees here their sacred rites and their religious 
beliefs ; even the speech does not differ much ; there is the 
same boldness in seeking dangers, and the same shrinking 
from meeting them when they are present. The Britons show 
more savageness, as those not yet civilized by a long-continued 
peace. We have been given to understand that the Gauls, 
too, were formerly conspicuous for their fighting ; sluggishness, 
however, entered with ease, and bravery was lost together with 
liberty. The same thing has happened to those of the Britons 
who were formerly conquered, while the rest remain as the 
Gauls were. 



Prehistoric and Celtic Britain 19 

Their strength is in their infantry ; certain tribes fight also 
with chariots. The charioteer is the man of rank ; his depend- 
ents fight for him. Formerly they were ruled by kings, now 
they are separated under the leadership of chieftains in factional 
quarrels. Nor is there anything more advantageous for us 
against these most powerful tribes than the fact that they do 
not consult for the common weal. Rarely do two or three 
tribes join for averting a common danger ; and so while they 
fight as individuals, they are overcome as a whole. 



i 



CHAPTER III 
ROMAN BRITAIN 

I. The Conquest of Britain 

The conquest of Britain by the Romans in a.d. 44 
and the immediately succeeding years is described in a 
number of contemporary accounts. The Greek historian 
Dio Cassius, though he hved more than a hundred years 
after the occurrences, had access to many records that 
are now lost, and he gives a specially full account of the 
early years of the conquest. 

14. The inva- About the same time Aulus Plautius, a very distinguished 
sion under senator, marched against Britain. For one Bericus, being driven 
out of that island by an insurrection, persuaded the Emperor 
Claudius to send an army thither. And this Plautius, taking 
the command, had great difficulty in leading his forces oyt of 
Gaul. For the soldiers were highly enraged, as though they 
were about to make war beyond the habitable world ; nor would 
they obey him until Narcissus, having been sent from Claudius, 
ascended the tribunal of Plautius and was desirous of addressing 
them. For then on this account, turning their rage against him 
they did not permit him to utter one word, but suddenly shout- 
ing out the well-knowTi expression " lo Saturnalia " (for the 
I slaves during the festival of Saturn, assuming the characters of 

their masters, give themselves up to revelry), they immediately 
followed Plautius with alacrity.^ In consequence of these pro- 
ceedings they were delayed in commencing their expedition. 

1 Narcissus was a Greek slave who had been freed by the Emperor, 
treated as a favorite, and raised to the position of his special represen- 
tative, thus earning the ridicule and hatred of the soldiers, and turning 
their enthusiasm back to their own general. 

20 



Roman Britain 21 

Being divided at length into three bodies, lest attempting to 
land all at one point they should be obstructed, and having 
during their passage been somewhat disheartened by one oc- 
currence, namely by being driven backward, but encouraged 
by another, that is to say, a meteor springing from the east and 
darting across towards the west, whither they were navigating, 
they landed on the island without opposition. For the Britons, 
from what they had learned not expecting that they would 
come, had not assembled together ; nor even when they had 
arrived did they attack them, but fled to the marshes and 
woods, hoping to wear them out by delay, and that, as had 
happened under Julius Caesar, the Romans would go back 
without effecting their purpose. 

Plautius, therefore, had much difficulty in seeking them out ; 
but when he did discover them, as they were not independent 
but subject to different kings, he overcame first Cataractacus, 
then Togodumnus, the son of Cunobelinus who was now dead. 
These taking to flight, he brought a part of the Boduni, who 
were under the dominion of the Catuvelanni, to terms of peace. 
Here, leaving a garrison, he proceeded farther. But when they 
arrived at a certain river, which the barbarians supposed the 
Romans could not pass without a bridge, and in consequence 
had taken up their position carelessly on the opposite bank, 
he sends forth the Gauls, who, even armed, were accustomed 
to swim with ease over the most rapid rivers ; who, attacking 
them contrary to their expectation, wounded not the men 
indeed, but the horses which drew their chariots. These being 
thrown into confusion, they who rode therein were no longer, 
secure. 

Next he sent across Flavins Vespasianus, who afterward 
enjoyed the supreme rule, and his brother Sabinus as next in 
command ; these also, having passed the river at a certain 
place, killed many of the barbarians by surprise. The rest, 
however, did not fly, but the following day again maintained 
the conflict nearly on equal terms, until Caius Osidius Geta, 
though in imminent danger of being made prisoner, ultimately 
so completely defeated them that he received triumphal honors, 
although he had not yet served the office of consul. The Britons, 



22 Readings in EnglisJi History 

thence retreating to the river Thames, where it discharges it- 
self into the ocean and becomes an estuary at high tide, easily 
passed it, as they were well acquainted with those parts which 
were firm and fordable. The Romans pursued them, but at this 
point failed to overtake them, though the Gauls again swimming 
over, and others passing a little higher up by means of a bridge, 
attacked them on every side and cut off many of them ; but 
rashly pressing on the remainder, they wandered into the path- 
less marshes and lost many of their own soldiers. 

Tacitus by way of introduction to his account of the 
campaigns of Agricola reviews briefly the manner in 
which the Romans. brought Britain under their control. 

15. A sketch When the greatest of all Romans, the divine Julius, entered 

of the early Britain with an army, although he terrified the inhabitants by 
connection . ,,,,i.i • ri , 

of the 3, favorable battle and gained possession of the coast, yet he 

Romans with seems merely to have shown the way to future generations, not 
ntain ^^ have handed the island down to them as a possession. Civil 

wars succeeded, the arms of our leaders were turned against 
their own country, and then came a long neglect of Britain, 
although we were at peace. The divine Augustus was in the 
habit of calling this public policy, while Tiberius called it 
established custom. It is clearly evident that Caius Caesar 
Caligula had formed a plan for entering Britain, and would 
have done so, if his swiftness in changing his mind, owing to 
his fickle disposition and his mighty undertakings against 
Germany, had not thwarted him. The divine Claudius, who 
was in favor of pressing on with the work, transported legions 
as well as auxiliaries, and took Vespasian to share in the under- 
taking, which was the beginning of the fortune in store for 
him : the tribes were conquered, the king captured, and 
Vespasian was pointed out to the fates. 

Aulus Plautius, the first governor of consular rank, and 
immediately after him Ostorius Scapula, were both renowned 
in war. The nearer parts of Britain were gradually reduced to 
the form of a province, and a colony of veterans was established 
there. Certain states were presented to the king Cogidumnus, 



Roman Britain 23 

who remained most loyal even to our time, in accordance with 
an old and long-accepted custom of the Roman people that 
it might have as instruments of servitude even kings. Then 
Didius Gallus retained the portions gained by the former gov- 
ernors, and even increased them by a few redoubts in the 
remoter parts, by which a reputation for enlarging the territory 
was sought. Veranius, who succeeded Didius, died within a 
year. After this Suetonius Paulinus for two years managed af- 
fairs successfully, overcoming tribes and strengthening garrisons. 
Relying on these two achievements he attacked the island of 
Mona, which was supplying military forces to the rebels, and 
exposed the settlement which was behind him to attack. 

The attack on the island of Mona or Anglesea, which 
thus gave opportunity for a revolt of the still but half- 
conquered Britons, and the subsequent events of this 
year of war, a.d. 61, are more fully described in another 
of Tacitus' works, his Annals. 

On the shore was standing the battle line of the enemy, 16. The 
bristling with arms and men, while women were running back ^^^^^^ on 
and forth, after the fashion of the Furies ; in funereal garb, ^f Mona 
with disheveled hair, they were bearing torches before them ; 
and the Druids around, with hands raised to the sky, pouring 
out their dreadful prayers, struck our soldiers with consterna- 
tion by the novelty of the sight, so that just as if paralyzed they 
offered their immovable bodies to wounds. Then at the ex- 
hortation of the leaders, and encouraging themselves not to 
fear this cowardly and fanatic array, they charged, overthrowing 
their opponents, and enveloping them in their own attack. 
Then a garrison was placed over the conquered, and the groves 
devoted to superstitious rites were cut down, for they con- 
sidered it right in the sight of their gods to make their altars 
reek with the blood of captives and to seek their gods by divi- 
nation from the entrails of men. 

News of the revolt of the natives under Boadicea, and 
of the destruction of a vast number of Roman troops, 



24 Readings in English History 

merchants, and their families, now reached the ears of 
the Roman governor Suetonius. 

The earliest But Suetonius with wonderful lirmness pushed on through 
of London ^^^ midst of the enemy to London, a place not distinguished 
by the name of colony, but a depot for merchants and espe- 
cially celebrated for its traffic. He was doubtful whether he 
should retain this place as a base for his operations, but when 
he considered the small number of his troops, ... he deter- 
mined to sacrifice this single town for the sake of saving all the 
rest. Nor was he influenced by the wailing and tears of those 
begging his aid to refrain from giving the signal for departure. 
He received within his line of march any one who wished to 
accompany him, but those who, because of their sex, age, or 
charm of locality, remained behind were crushed by the enemy. 
The modern The Same disaster befell the municipality of Verulamium, be- 
st. Albans ^ausc the barbarians, delighted with the booty and averse to 
the hardships of war, neglected the small forts and scattered 
guards of soldiers, and turned their whole attention to that 
which would prove fruitful to the plunderer and which was 
unguarded by the defenders. It is agreed that about seventy 
thousand Roman soldiers and their allies fell in those places 
which I have mentioned. For the enemy were not eager to 
capture or sell, or do anything else which had to do with the 
trade of war, but hastened to murders, to the gibbet, to fires, 
to the cross, as if about to be punished they sought to wreak 
their vengeance first. . . . 

Suetonius had now an army of almost ten thousand men, con- 
sisting of the fourteenth legion, together with the veterans of 
the twentieth and the au.xiliaries from the neighborhood. He no 
longer delayed, but prepared for a regular battle. He chose for 
this a place with a narrow entrance and closed in the rear by 
a forest, clearly seeing that there would be no trouble from the 
enemy except in front, and as the plain was open he was with- 
out fear of ambuscade. Then the legionary soldiers were 
stationed in close ranks, on either side the light-armed troops, 
while the cavalry crowded together in a mass took their stand 
in the wings. The troops of the Britons were rushing hither 



Roman Britain 25 

and thither m bands of foot and horse, in greater number than 
anywhere before this time ; and so confident were they of 
success that they brought with them their wives as witnesses 
of their victory, and placed them in wagons which they had 
stationed on the extreme edge of the field. ... 

Boadicea riding along with her two daughters in her chariot. Speech of 
as she approached each tribe called them to witness that it was 
customary for the Britons to wage war under the leadership of 
a woman, but that at this time not as one descended from 
great ancestors did she come to recover her kingdom and her 
resources, but as one descended from the people to avenge 
her lost liberty, her body lacerated with blows, the honor of 
her daughters violated. The desires of the Romans had gone 
so far that they did not leave undefiled the bodies even of the 
aged and of the maidens. Nevertheless the gods were aiding 
in the just punishment of these men : one legion had already 
fallen which had dared to engage in battle ; the rest were in 
hiding in the camp or were watching for a chance of flight ; 
they would not endure even the clamor and shouts of the mul- 
titude, much less the attacks of the soldiers. If they would 
reflect on the number of their armed men and on the reasons 
for the war, they would feel they must either conquer in the 
battle or die. This was the decision of a woman : let the men 
live if they wished, and be subservient to the Romans. . . . 

At first the legion did not move from its position, but held Defeat of the 
itself within the narrow pass as a fortification, after it had ex- B"t'sh rebels 
hausted the weapons with unerring aim upon the enemy who 
came a little nearer ; then suddenly the legion rushed forth in 
a wedge-shaped column. The ardor of the auxiliaries was 
equally great ; and the cavalry with uplifted weapons broke 
whatever stood in their way. The enemy not actually engaged 
turned their backs, but escape was difficult, since the wagons 
which they had previously placed there hindered their flight. 
The soldiers did not refrain from killing even the women, and 
the cattle pierced with weapons increased the heap of the dead. 
Famous indeed was the victory gained on that day, and equal 
to the victories of ancient times. There are those who say that 
not much less than eighty thousand Britons fell then, while only 



26 



Readings hi English History 



Strengthen- 
ing of the 
garrison 



about four hundred of our men were killed and not many more 
wounded. Boadicea ended her life with poison ; and Poenius 
Postumus, prefect of the camp of the second legion, when he 
learned of the successful deeds of the soldiers of the fourteenth 
and twentieth legions, killed himself with his sword, because he 
had defrauded his own men of equal glory and had, contrary 
to military laws, disobeyed the orders of his general. . . . 

Then the entire army was gathered and held in the tents to 
complete the rest of the war. The emperor increased the forces 
by two thousand legionary soldiers sent from Germany, eight 
thousand auxiliaries, and one thousand horsemen, upon whose 
arrival the ninth legion was filled out with legionary soldiers. 
The cohorts and the cavalry were supplied with new winter 
quarters. Whatever tribe was doubtful or adverse to the Roman 
people was ravaged with fire and sword. 



17. Agric- 
ola's cam- 
paign in 
Caledonia or 
Scotland, 
A.D. 80 



II. The Organization and Defense of the Province 

This was the last serious conflict between the native 
Britons and the Romans in the center and south of the 
island ; later military campaigns were mostly in Scotland 
and Wales, and the efforts of the governors were devoted 
to organizing the province, civilizing the natives, and ad- 
ministering the government over them and over the immi- 
grants from other parts of the Roman Empire that now 
came to live among them. The beginning of this work 
of conquest in the north and civilization in the south was 
made under Agricola and is described by Tacitus. 

The third year of the expedition brought to light new tribes, 
which were attacked even as far as the Tyne (the name of an 
estuary). The enemy were thoroughly terrified by this attack, 
and although afflicted by severe weather did not dare move 
against our. army, so there was time for constructing redoubts. 
Those skilled in such things remarked that no other general 
had chosen such excellent sites : not a fort erected by Agricola 
was either captured by storm or left because of capitulation 



natives 



Roman Britain 27 

and evacuation \ for they were strengthened against a siege by 
provisions enough to last a year. The winter brought no fear ; 
there were frequent salHes ; the enemy were baffled and in 
despair on this account because they were accustomed for the 
most part to make good the losses of the summer in the winter, 
and now they were discomfited summer and winter equally. 
Nor did Agricola ever appropriate greedily any deed performed 
by another ; whether centurion or prefect, he always had in 
him an impartial witness to his deed. Among some he was 
spoken of as too harsh in censure, and just as he was courteous 
to the good, so he was severe towards the evil. But none of 
his anger remained in secret, so that no one needed to fear his 
silence ; and he considered it more honorable to give offense 
than to hate. . . . 

The next winter was occupied with laying most advanta- civilizing the 
geous plans. In order that these men living far apart, unskilled, 
and eager for war might, by a taste of pleasure, become accus- 
tomed to peace and quiet, he personally urged, and publicly 
aided, them to build temples, market places, and homes by 
assisting those who seemed so disposed, and by censuring the 
inactive ; thus rivalry for honor took the place of compulsion. 
Further, he provided a liberal education for the sons of the 
chieftains and gave preference to the natural endowments of the 
Britons over the endeavors of the Gauls ; so much so that those 
who recently were unfavorable to the Roman language were 
now eager for its literature. So our dress came to be held in 
honor, and the toga was often seen. Gradually they fell a prey 
to the allurements of vice, the porticoes, the baths, the dainties 
of the banquet ; this in the judgment of the ignorant was called 
civilization, although it is really characteristic of slavery. . . . 

The Britons now readily furnish their levy, besides paying 
tribute and other duties required of them by the government, 
if injustice is not shown them. They endure this, however, with 
difficulty, and although conquered so that they obey, they are 
not yet so subdued as to be entirely subservient. 

From time to time an emperor himself came to Brit- 
ain, as did Hadrian in the year a.d. 120, whose visit is 



28 Readings in English History 

mentioned in the following passage from the historian 
^lius Spartianus, alluding apparently to the building of 
the famous wall across the island. 

i8. A visit He went to Britain, where he corrected many things, and 

from the ^^^jj^. ^ ^^,^jj eighty miles long to divide the Romans from the 
Emperor , • , -t r^ ^ 

Hadrian barbarians. Affairs being settled in Britain, he crossed to Gaul, 

which was disturbed by the sedition of Alexandrinus. 

Seventy-five years later the Emperor Severus con- 
ducted a military campaign against certain turbulent 
tribesmen in Britain. This is described by the his- 
torian Herodian, a contemporary of Severus. 

19. A cam- While Severus thus grieved at the dissolute life of his sons 

paign in ^^^ their unbecoming attachment to public spectacles, he 
Britain A. D. . , , r , r r -^ ■ ■ 1 • 11 

208-211 received letters from the prefect of Britain, relating that the 

barbarians there were in a state of insurrection, overrunning 
the country, carrying off booty, and laying everything waste ; 
so that for defense of the island there was need of either 
greater force or of the presence of the Emperor himself. 
Severus heard this with pleasure. By nature a lover of glory, 
and anxious, after his victories in the East and North and his 
consequent titles, to obtain a trophy from the Britons, willing, 
moreover, to withdraw his sons from Rome that they might 
grow up in the sobriety and discipline of a military life far 
removed from the blandishments and luxuries prevalent there, 
he ordered an expedition against Britain, although now old 
and laboring under an arthritic affection, but as to his mind 
vigorous beyond any youth. 

For the most part he performed the march carried in a litter, 
nor did he ever continue long in one place. Having com- 
pleted the journey with his sons and crossed over the sea 
more quickly than could be described or expected, he advanced 

1 Every one should read the Roman British stories in Kipling's Puck 
of rook's Hill. They are of course fanciful and must not be taken as 
exact history, but they probably represent very well the actual state of 
things at that time. 



Roman Britain 29 

against the Britons, and having drawn together the soldiers 
from all sides and concentrated a vast force, he prepared for 
the war. The Britons, much struck with the sudden arrival of 
the Emperor, and learning that such a mighty force was col- 
lected against them, sent ambassadors, sued for peace, and 
were willing to excuse their past transgressions. But Severus, 
purposely seeking delay that he might not return to Rome 
without his object, and, moreover, desirous to obtain from 
Britain a victory and a title, sent away their ambassadors 
without effecting their purpose, and prepared all things for the 
contest. He more especially endeavored to render the marshy 
places stable by means of causeways, that his soldiers treading 
with safety might easily pass them, and, having firm footing, 
fight to advantage. For many parts of the British country, 
being constantly flooded by the tides of the ocean, become 
marshy. In these the natives are accustomed to swim and 
wade about, being immersed as high as their waists. . . . When 
everything appeared to Severus sufficiently arranged for the 
war, leaving his younger son, named Geta, in that part of the 
island which was subjugated to the Romans for the purpose of 
administering justice and directing other civil matters of the 
government, giving him as assessors the more aged of his 
friends, and taking Antoninus with himself, he led the way 
against the barbarians. 

The Notitia Dignitatiim, or list of officials of the 
Roman Empire, a document drawn up about a.d. 400, 
mentions among the several thousand offices which it 
names a considerable number which were established in 
Britain. The names and characters of the offices seem 
to have been exactly the same there as in Gaul, Spain, 
Italy, Africa, Greece, and other parts of the Empire, and 
bring out with great clearness the fact that Britain was 
an integral part of the wide Roman dominions. The 
offices named are naturally of a mihtary character, though 
equipped with a great force of clerks, collectors, and 



30 



Readings m Efiglish History 



other civil officers and subordinates. Some passages from 
the Notitia referring to Britain are here given. 



20. List of 
Roman offi- 
cials and 
their subor- 
dinates in 
Britain 



Duke of the 
four British 
provinces 



Troops along 
the wall 



Under the Count of the Sacred Bounties are the accountant 
of the general tax of the Britons, the prefect of the store- 
houses at London, the procurator of the weaving house at 
Winchester in Britain. 

The same Honorable Count has a staff as follows : a chief 
of staff from the office of the master of the imperial infantry, 
two receivers of taxes from the office above mentioned, a cus- 
todian from the office above mentioned, a chief deputy, a chief 
assistant, an assistant, a keeper of records ; secretaries. . . . 

Under the charge of the Honorable Duke of the Britains are 
the prefect of the sixth legion, the prefect of the Dalmatian 
cavalry at Presidium, the prefect of the Crispian cavalry at 
Doncaster, the prefect of the Catafractian cavalry at Morbium, 
the prefect of the band of Tigrisian Barcars at Arbeia, the 
prefect of the band of the Dictensian Nervii at Dictis, the 
prefect of the guards at Concangis, the prefect of the band of 
scouts at Lavatrse, the prefect of the band of guides at 
Verterse, the prefect of the band of defenders at Brougham, 
the prefect of the band of Solensii at Maglonae, the prefect 
of the band of Pacensians at Magis, the prefect of the band 
of Longovicarii at Longovicis, the prefect of the Petrurian 
band of supervisors at Derventio. 

Likewise, along the line of the wall are the tribune of the 
fourth cohort of the Lingones at Segedunum, the tribune of 
the first cohort of the Cornovii at Pons yElii, the prefect of 
the first wing of the Asturians at Condercum, the tribune 
of the first cohort of the Frisians at Vindobala, the prefect 
of the Savinian wing at Hunnum, the prefect of the second 
wing of the Asturians at Cilurnum, the tribune of the first 
cohort of the Batavians at Procolitia, the tribune of the first 
cohort of the Tungrians at Borcovicus, the tribune of the 
fourth cohort of the Gauls at Vindolanum, the tribune of the 
first cohort of the Asturians at ^sica, the tribune of the sec- 
ond cohort of the Dalmatians at Magnse, the tribune of the 
first ^lian cohort of the Dacians at Ambloglanna. 



Roman Britain 31 

Under the charge of the Honorable Vicar of the Britains are Tax officers 
the consulars of Maxima Caesariensis, of Valentia, of Britan- g^jjlg,^"""^ 
nia Secunda, of Flavia Caesariensis. provinces 

The Honorable Vicar of the Britains has a staff as follows : a 
chief of staff from the body of confidential agents of the first 
class, a chief deputy, two receivers of taxes, a chief clerk. 

Of the many hundred Roman inscriptions on stone 
tablets, tiles, altars, and metal plates, the following have 
been chosen to represent the most familiar classes : those 
found along the line of the wall and recording the prog- 
ress of its construction, those found on dedicatory altars, 
those recording the performance of some vow, and those 
placed on funeral monuments. They are naturally most 
often of a religious or memorial character ; the more ordi- 
nary affairs of life unfortunately left no such record. 

In honor of the Emperor Caesar Titus ^lius Hadrianus 21. Typical 
Antoninus Augustus Pius, the father of his country. A com- ^°^*^"P *°°® 
pany of the Twentieth Legion, the Valiant-Victorious, exe- 
cuted 441 1 paces. 

To Jupiter best and greatest, and to the gods and goddesses On a house- 
who preside over the household, and to the penates, for the ^°'^ ^^*^'' 
preservation of the health of himself and his family, Publius 
yElius Marcianus, prefect of a cohort, dedicated and conse- 
crated this altar. 

To the god best and greatest, the unconquerable Mithras, An altar to 
lord of ages, Publius Proculinus, centurion, for himself and his ^^'thras 
son Proculus, performs his vow willingly and dutifully, in the 
consulship of our lords Gallus and Volusianus. 

To the gods of the shades. For Julia Veneria, aged thirty- On a tomb- 
three years, Alexander, her most attached husband, and Julius ^*°"^ 
Belicianus, her son, caused this monument to be made. 

A glimpse of Christianity in Roman Britain is to be 
found in the list of the signers of the canons adopted at 
the Council of Aries, in Gaul, held in a.d. 314; alongside 



32 



/\i(ft////^i^s ill English History 



22. British 
Christians 
in A.D. 314 



of the bishops of certain cities of Gaul are to be found 
the following representatives of the Christian church in 
Britain. 

Kborius, bishop of the city of York in the province of 
Britain. Restitutus, bishop of the city of London, in the 
province above mentioned. 

Adelfius, bishop of the city of Cxileon-on-Usk. 

Sacerdos, priest. 

Arminius, deacon. 



111. Latkk Roman Britain 

The decay of the province of Britain through the 
fourth and fifth centuries has left almost no traces in 
written records. The somewhat fanciful descriptions of 
Gildas, who lived in Britain, and wrote about a.d. 550, and 
a few scattered references in continental chronicles, are 
the nearest we have to contemporary history. 

23. Gildas' After this, Britain is left deprived of all her soldiery and 

description of .^rmed bands, of her cruel governors, and of the flower of her 

the decay ° . 

and inva- youth, who went with Maximus, but never again returned ; 

sions of and utterly ignorant as she was of the art of war, she groaned 

^ ^^° in amazement for many years untler the cruelty of two foreign 
nations — the Scots from the northwest, and the Picts from 
the north. 

The Britons, rendered desperate by the assaults of the Scots 
and Picts, their hostilities and dreadful oppressions, send am- 
bassadors to Rome with letters, entreating in piteous terms the 
assistance of an armed band to protect them, and offering loyal 
and ready submission to the authority of Rome, if they only 
would expel their invading foes. A legion is immediately sent, 
forgetting their past rebellion, and provided sufficiently with 
arms. When they had crossed over the sea and landed, they 
came at once to close conflict with their cruel enemies, and slew 
great numbers of them. All of them were driven beyond the 



Roman Britain 33 

borders, and the humiliated natives rescued from the bloody 
slavery which awaited them. . . . 

No sooner were they gone, than the Picts and Scots, like 
worms which in the heat of midday come forth from their holes, 
hastily land again from their canoes, in which they had been car- 
ried beyond the Cichican valley, differing one from another in 
manners, but inspired with the same avidity for blood. . . . 

Again, therefore, the wretched remnant, sending to ^^^tius, "The groans 
a powerful Roman citizen, address him as follows : " To ^^tius, °^ *^^ „ 

* ' Britons" 

now consul for the third time : the groans of the Britons." 
And again a little further, thus : "The barbarians drive us to 
the sea ; the sea throws us back on the barbarians ; thus two 
modes of death await us ; we are either slain or drowned." The 
Romans, however, could not assist them, and in the meantime 
the discomfited people, wandering in the woods, began to 
feel the effects of a severe famine, which compelled many of 
them without delay to yield themselves up to their cruel per- 
secutors to obtain subsistence ; others of them, however, lying 
hid in mountains, caves, and woods, continually sallied out 
from thence to renew the war. . . . 

So that all the columns were leveled with the ground by 
the frequent strokes of the battering-ram, all the husbandmen 
routed, together with their bishops, priests, and people, whilst 
the sword gleamed, and the flames crackled around them on 
every side. Lamentable to behold, in the midst of the streets 
lay the tops of lofty towers tumbled to the ground, stones of 
high walls, holy altars, remains of human bodies. . . . 

The following fragment of a poem, commonly called TJie 
Rjiined City, comes from Anglo-Saxon times, but it seems 
to refer to the ruins of the Roman city Aqua^ Solis, the 
modern city of Bath. It is not hard to imagine the effect 
which the sight of such ruins falling into decay would have 
upon a barbarian, even if he were a barbarian conqueror. 

Wondrously wrought and fair its wall of stone, 24. The 

Shattered by Fate ! The castles rent asunder, Ruined City 

The work of giants moldered away ! 



34 Readings in English History 

Its roofs are breaking and falling ; its towers crumble 
In ruin. Plundered those walls with grated doors — • 
Their mortar white with frost. Its battered ramparts 
Are shorn away and ruined, all undermined 
By eating age. The mighty men that built it, 
Departed hence, undone by death, are held 
Fast in the earth's embrace. Tight is the clutch 
Of the grave, while overhead of living men 
A hundred generations pass away. 
The city Long this red wall, now mossy gray, withstood, 

^^'^ While kingdom followed kingdom in the land. 

Unshaken 'neath the storms of heaven — yet now 
Its towering gate hath fallen. . . . 

Radiant the mead-halls in that city bright, 
Yea, many were its baths. High rose its wealth 
Of horned pinnacles, while loud within 
Was heard the joyous revelry of men — 
Till mighty Fate came with her sudden change ! 

Wide-wasting was the battle where they fell. 
Plague-laden days upon the city came ; 
Death snatched away that mighty host of men. . . . 

There in the olden time full many a thane. 
Shining with gold, all gloriously adorned, 
Haughty in heart, rejoiced when hot with wine ; 
Upon him gleamed his armor, and he gazed 
On gold and silver and all precious gems ; 
On riches and on wealth and treasured jewels, 
A radiant city in a kingdom wide. 
The hot There stood the courts of stone. Hot within, 

•'^■ths 'Y\vt stream flowed with its mighty surge. The wall 

Surrounded all with its bright bosom ; there 
The baths stood, hot within its heart. . . . 



CHAPTER IV 

EARLY SAXON ENGLAND, A.D. 400-830 

I. The Anglo-Saxon Setilements 

The confused account of the British monk Gildas, 
which has already been quoted to ilkistrate the decay 
during the later Roman period, and which seems to have 
been written about a.d. 550, gives us, unsatisfactory as 
it is, our only nearly contemporary account of the perma- 
nent settlements of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Few 
details are recorded, and even these few are so compli- 
cated by the complaints and scolding of the writer and 
so inexact in statement that we get little impression from 
them except the mere fact of a permanent settlement of 
the German invaders in Britain. 

Then all the councilors, together with that proud tyrant 25. Gildas' 

Vortigern, the British king, were so blinded, that, as a protec- account of 

, . , ,1-1 ..... the first 

tion to their country, they sealed its doom by inviting in among conquests of 

them, like wolves into the sheepfold, the fierce and impious the Angles 
Saxons, a race hateful both to God and men, to repel the a^"! Saxons 
invasions of the northern nations. Nothing was ever so perni- 
cious to our country, nothing was ever so unlucky. What pal- 
pable darkness must have enveloped their minds — darkness 
desperate and cruel ! Those very people, whom, when absent, 
they dreaded more than death itself, were invited to reside, as 
one may say, under the selfsame roof. Foolish are the princes, 
as it is said of Thafneos giving counsel to unwise Pharaoh. A 
multitude of whelps came forth from the lair of this barbaric 
lioness, in three keels, as they call them, that is, in three ships 
of war, with their sails wafted by the wind and with omens and 

35 



36 Readings iji English History 

prophecies favorable, for it was foretold by a certain sooth- 
sayer among them that they should occupy the country to 
which they were sailing three hundred years, and half of that 
time, a hundred and fifty years, should plunder and despoil 
the same. They first landed on the eastern side of the island, 
by the invitation of the unlucky king, and there fixed their 
sharp talons, apparently to fight in favor of the island, but 
alas ! more truly against it. Their motherland, finding her 
first brood thus successful, sends forth a larger company of 
her wolfish offspring, which, sailing over, join themselves to 
their bastard-born comrades. From that time the germ of 
iniquity and the root of contention planted their poison amongst 
us, as we deserved, and shot forth into leaves and branches. 
The barbarians being thus introduced as soldiers into the 
island, to encounter, as they falsely said, any dangers in 
defense of their hospitable entertainers, obtain an allowance 
of provisions, which, for some time being plentifully bestowed, 
Settlements Stopped their doglike mouths. Yet they complain that their 
tectors'^in "^^'^^hly Supplies are not furnished in sufficient abundance, and 
Britain they industriously aggravate each occasion of quarrel, saying 
that unless more liberality is shown them, they will break the 
treaty and plunder the whole island. In a short time they 
follow up their threats with deeds. . . . 

After this, sometimes our countrymen, sometimes the enemy, 
won the field, to the end that our Lord might in this land try 
after his accustomed manner these his Israelites, whether they 
loved him or not, until the year of the siege of Bath-hill, when 
took place also the last almost, though not the least, slaughter 
of our cruel foes, which was (as I know) forty-four years and 
one month after the landing of the Saxons, and also the time 
of my o\vn nativity. And yet not even to this day are the cities 
of our country inhabited as before, but, being forsaken and 
overthrown, still lie desolate ; our foreign wars having ceased, 
but our civil troubles still remaining. 

Bede, who lived Almost two hundred years after the time 
of Gildas, and cannot be considered as so nearly a contem- 
porary witness, nevertheless gives in his Ecclesiastical 



Early Saxon England 37 

History of Engla^id a much more definite account of the 
settlements, and one which may be accepted perhaps as 
equally trustworthy in its main facts, though we do not 
know the source of his information. 



In the year of our Lord 449, Martian being made Emperor 26. Bede's 

with Valentiiiian, and the forty-sixth from Augustus, ruled the account of 
T- . rr., . ■ r 1 A 1 r> the invasions 

Empire seven years. 1 hen the nation of the Angles, or Saxons, ^^^ con- 
being invited by the aforesaid king, arrived in Britain with three quests 
long ships, and had a place assigned them to reside in by the 
same king, in the eastern part of the island, that they might 
thus appear to be fighting for their country, whilst their real 
intentions were to enslave it. Accordingly they engaged with 
the enemy, who were come from the north to give battle, and 
obtained the victory ; which being known at home in their 
own country, as also the fertility of the country, and the 
cowardice of the Britons, a more considerable fleet was quickly 
sent over, bringing a still greater number of men, which, being 
added to the former, made up an invincible army. The new- 
comers received of the Britons a place to inhabit, upon condi- 
tion that they should wage war against their enemies for the 
peace and security of the country, whilst the Britons agreed to 
furnish them with pay. 

Those who came over were of the three powerful nations of 
Germany, — Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are 
descended the people of Kent, and of the Isle of Wight, and 
those also in the province of the West Saxons who are to this 
day called Jutes, seated opposite to the Isle of Wight. From The seven 
the Saxons, that is, the country which is now called Old Saxony, P""^'P=^ 
came the East Saxons, the South Saxons, and the West Saxons. 
From the Angles, that is, the country which is called Anglia, and 
which is said, from that time, to remain desert to this day, be- 
tween the provinces of the Jutes and the Saxons, are descended 
the East Angles, the Midland Angles, Mercians, all the race of 
the Northumbrians, that is, of those nations that dwell on the 
north side of the river Humber, and the other nations of the 
English. ... 



38 Readings in English History 

In a short time swarms of the aforesaid nations came over 
into the island, and they began to increase so much that they 
became terrible to the natives themselves who had invited them. 
Then, having on a sudden entered into league with the Picts, 
whom they had by this time repelled by the force of their arms, 
they began to turn their weapons against their confederates. At 
first they obliged them to furnish a greater quantity of pro- 
visions ; and, seeking an occasion to quarrel, protested that, 
unless more plentiful supplies were brought them, they would 
break the confederacy and ravage all the island; nor were 
they backward in putting their threats in execution. In short, 
the fire kindled by the hands of these pagans proved God's 
just revenge for the crimes of the people. . . . 
Plunder of For the barbarous conquerors acting here in the same man- 

the Romano- j^gj-, Or rather the just Judge ordaining that they should so act, 
they plundered all the neighboring cities and country, spread the 
conflagration from the eastern to the western sea, without any 
opposition, and covered almost every part of the devoted island. 
Public as well as private structures were overturned ; the priests 
were everywhere slain before the altars ; the prelates and the 
people, without any respect of persons, were destroyed with fire 
and sword ; nor were there any to bury those who had been thus 
cruelly slaughtered. Some of the miserable remainder, being 
captured in the mountains, were butchered in heaps. Others, 
spent with hunger, came forth and submitted themselves to 
the enemy for food, being destined to undergo perpetual servi- 
tude, if they were not killed even upon the spot. Some, with 
sorrowful hearts, fled beyond the seas. Others, continuing in 
their own country, led a miserable life among the woods, rocks, 
and mountains, with scarcely enough food to support life, and 
expecting every moment to be their last. 

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, though probably begun 
long after the time both of Gildas and Bede and copying 
largely from them, introduces many other details con- 
cerning the settlements in its entries under various 
years ; as, for instance, the following : 



Early Saxon England 39 

A.D. 449, This year Martianus and Valentius succeeded to 27. Extracts 
the Empire, and reigned seven years. And in their days *y°"^ t*^® 
Hengist and Horsa, invited by Vortigern, king of the Britons, Saxon 
landed in Britain on the shore which is called Ebbsfleet; at ^*''<""*^ ^ 
iirst in aid of the Britons, but afterwards they fought against 
them. King Vortigern gave them land in the southeast of this 
country, on condition that they should fight against the Picts. 
Then they fought against the Picts and had the victory where- 
soever they came. They then sent to the Angles, desired a 
larger force to be sent, and caused them to be told the worth- 
lessness of the Britons, and the excellence of the land. Then 
they soon sent thither a larger force in aid of the others. At 
that time there came men from three tribes in Germany, — 
from the Old Saxons, from the Angles, from the Jutes. From 
the Jutes came the Kentishmen and the Wightwarians, that is, 
the tribe which now dwells in Wight, and that race among the 
West Saxons which is still called the race of Jutes. From the 
Old Saxons came the men of Essex and Sussex and Wessex. 
From Anglia, which has ever since remained deserted betwixt 
the Jutes and the Saxons, came the men of East Anglia, Middle 
Anglia, Mercia, and all Northumbria. 

Their leaders were two brothers, Hengist and Horsa : they 
were the sons of Wihtgils ; Wihtgils was the son of Witta, 
Witta of Wecta, Wecta of Woden ; from this Woden sprang 
all our royal families, and those of the Southumbrians also. 

A.D. 455. This year Hengist and Horsa fought against King 
Vortigern at the place which is called ^glesford, and Horsa 
was there slain, and after that Hengist obtained the kingdom, 
and ^sc, his son. 

A.D. 457. This year Hengist and ^sc, his son, fought 
against the Britons at the place which is called Crayford, and 
there slew four thousand men ; and the Britons then forsook 
Kent and in great terror fled to London. 

A.D. 477. This year yEUa and his three sons, Cymen and 
Wlensing and Cissa, came to the land of Britain with three 
ships, at the place which is called Cymenesora, and there slew 
many Welsh, and some they drove in flight into the forest 
that is named Andreds-lea. 



40 Readings in English History 

A.D. 491. This year ^Ua and Cissa besieged Andreds- 
ceaster, and slew all that dwelt therein, so that not a single 
Briton was there left. 

A.D. 495, This year two Ealdormen came to Britain, Cerdic 
and Cynric his son, with five ships, at the place which is called 
Cerdicsora, and the same day they fought against the Welsh. 

A.D. 519. This year Cerdic and Cynric obtained the king- 
dom of the West Saxons ; and the same year they fought 
against the Britons where it is now called Cerdicsford. And 
from that time forth the royal offspring of the West Saxons 
reigned. 

A.D. 547. This year Ida began to reign, from whence arose 
the royal race of Northumbria, and he reigned twelve years, 
and built Bamborough, which was at first inclosed by a hedge, 
and afterwards by a wall. 

But, after all, we know very few of the circumstances 
of the settlement. It was in all probability much more 
gradual than is indicated by the writers just quoted ; and 
of the date and nature of some of the settlements, as for 
instance that of the East Angles, not a single mention 
has come down to us. 



II. The New Race 

The Germans The settlement of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and others 
camrinto^ in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries was a part of 
England a general series of migrations that took place from Ger- 
many westward during that period. A number of German 
tribes, such as the Goths, Vandals, Franks, and Burgun- 
dians, left their home land and, like the Angles and 
Saxons, came to settle in the various parts of the Roman 
Empire. It is a matter of interest, therefore, to find out 
what manner of men these Germans were before they 
left Germany. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote an 



Early Saxon E tig land 41 

account of their habits about the end of the first century- 
after Christ, and although these may have changed con- 
siderably in the intervening three hundred years, and 
although he knew but little of the three remote tribes 
which afterwards came to England, yet there is much in 
his account of the Germans that was evidently common 
to the whole race, and remained unchanged till the time 
of their settlements in Italy, Spain, Gaul, and Britain. 
Some of the more important sections of his Gennania 
are the following: : 



IV. I myself subscribe to the opinion of those who hold 28. Extracts 

that the German tribes have never been contaminated by in- ^"^""^ 

Tacitus' 
termarriage with other nations, but have remained peculiar Gennania 

and unmixed and wholly unlike other peoples. Hence the 
bodily type is the same among them all, notwithstanding the 
extent of their population. They all have fierce blue eyes, 
reddish hair, and large bodies fit only for sudden exertion ; 
they do not submit patiently to work and effort, and cannot 
endure thirst and heat at all, though cold and hunger they are 
accustomed to because of their climate. 

VII. They choose their kings on account of their ancestry, 
their generals for their valor. The kings do not have free and 
unlimited power, and the generals lead by example rather than 
command, winning great admiration if they are energetic and 
fight in plain sight in front of the line. But no one is allowed 
to put a culprit to death or to imprison him, or even to beat 
him with stripes except the priests, and then not by way of a 
punishment or at the command of the general, but as though 
-ordered by the god who they believe aids them in their fight- 
ing. Certain figures and images taken from their sacred groves 
they carry into battle, but their greatest incitement to courage 
is that a division of horse or foot is not made up by chance or 
by accidental association, but is formed of families and clans ; 
and their dear ones are close at hand, so that the wailings of 
the women and the crying of the children can be heard during 



42 



Readings in English History 



Share of the 
people in 
government 



the battle. These are for each warrior the most sacred wit- 
nesses of his bravery, these his dearest applauders. They carry 
their wounds to their mothers and their wives, nor do the latter 
fear to count their number and examine them while they bring 
them food and urge them to deeds of valor. 

XI. Concerning minor matters the chiefs deliberate, but in 
important affairs all the people are consulted, although the 
subjects referred to the common people for judgment are dis- 
cussed beforehand by the chiefs. Unless some sudden and 
unexpected event calls them together, they assemble on fixed 
days either at the new moon or the full moon, for they think 
these the most auspicious times to begin their undertakings. 
They do not reckon time by the number of days, as we do, but 
by the number of nights. So run their appointments, their 
contracts ; the night introduces the day, so to speak. A disad- 
vantage arises from their regard for liberty in that they do not 
come together at once as if commanded to attend, but two or 
three days are wasted by their delay in assembling. When the 
crowd is sufficient they take their places fully armed. Silence 
is proclaimed by the priests, who have on these occasions the 
right to keep order. Then the king or a chief addresses them, 
each being heard according to his age, noble blood, reputation 
in warfare and eloquence, though more because he has the 
power to persuade than the right to command. If an opinion 
is displeasing they reject it by shouting; if they agree to it 
they clash with their spears. The most complimentary form 
of assent is that which is expressed by means of their weapons. 

XIV. When they go into battle it is a disgrace for the chief 
the Germans j-q ]^g outdone in deeds of valor and for the following not to 
match the courage of their chief ; furthermore for any one of the 
followers to have survived his chief and come unharmed out of 
a battle is lifelong infamy and reproach. It is in accordance 
with their most sacred oath of allegiance to defend and pro- 
tect him and to ascribe their bravest deeds to his renown. 
The chief fights for victory ; the men of his following, for their 
chief. If the tribe to which they belong sinks into the leth- 
argy of long peace and quiet, many of the noble youths volun- 
tarily seek other tribes that are still carrying on war, because 



Customs of 



Early Saxon England 43 

a quiet life is irksome to the Germans and they gain renown 
more readily in the midst of perils, while a large following is 
not to be provided for except by violence and war. For they 
look to the liberality of their chief for their war horse and 
their deadly and victorious spear; the feasts and entertain-, 
ments, however, furnished them on a homely but liberal scale, 
fall to their lot as mere pay. The means for this bounty are 
acquired through war and plunder. Nor could you persuade 
them to till the soil and await the yearly produce so easily as 
you could induce them to stir up an enemy and earn glorious 
wounds. Nay, they even think it tame and stupid to acquire by 
their sweat what they can purchase by their blood. 

XV. In the intervals of peace they spend little time in hunt- Customs in 
ing but much in idleness, given over to sleep and eating ; all "^^^^ 

the bravest and most warlike doing nothing, while the hearth 
and home and the care of the fields is given over to the women, 
the old men, and the various infirm members of the family. 
The masters lie buried in sloth by that strange contradiction of 
nature that causes the same men to love indolence and hate 
peace. It is customary for the several tribesmen to present 
voluntary offerings of cattle and grain to the chiefs, which, 
though accepted as gifts of honor, also supply their wants. They 
are particularly delighted in the gifts of neighboring tribes, not 
only those sent by individuals, but those presented by states 
as such, — choice horses, massive arms, embossed plates and 
armlets. We have now taught them to accept money also. 

XVI. It is well known that none of the German tribes live 
in cities, nor even permit their dwellings to be closely joined 
to each other. They live separated and in various places, as a 
spring or a meadow or a grove strikes their fancy. They lay 
out their villages not as with us in connected or closely joined 
houses, but each one surrounds his dwelling with an open 
space, either as a protection against conflagration or because 
of their ignorance of the art of building. They do not even 
make use of rough stones or tiles. They use for all purposes 
undressed timber, giving no beauty or comfort. Some parts 
they plaster carefully with earth of such purity and brilliancy 
as to form a substitute for painting and designs in color. 



44 



Readi7igs in English History 



29. Extracts 

from 

Beowulf 



The queen 
gives the cup 
first to her 
husband, the 
king 



The poem of Beowulf is probably the oldest piece of 
English literature and may even have been composed 
before the settlers left their home, as all the places 
mentioned in it are on the Continent. In the form in 
Which it exists now, however, it was undoubtedly writ- 
ten in England, and many late changes have been intro- 
duced. The following passage is a description of a scene 
in the hall of Hrothgar, king of the East Danes, whom 
Beowulf has come to visit. 

There was laughter of men, 

Din resounded, 

Joyous were their words. 

Wealhtheow went forth. 

The queen of Hrothgar ; 

Mindful of courtesy, 

Gold-adorned, she greeted, 

The men in the hall. 

And then the free born wife 

Gave the cup first 

To the noble guardian. 

Of the East Danes; 

Bade him be blithe 

At the beer-drinking, 

Beloved by his people. 

The king famed for victory 

Joyfully partook of 

The feast and the hall cup. 

Went around then 

The lady of the Helmings, 

To old and to young 

In every part 

Gave the gemmed beaker. 

Till the time came. 

That she to Beowulf, — 

The proud-thoughted queen, 

Decked with her crown, — 



Early Saxon England 45 

Brought the mead-cup ; Speech of the 

Greeted the lord of the Geats, °^ ^" 

Gave thanks to God, 

With wisely chosen words, 

That her wish was fulfilled, 

That she in some 

One of earls should trust 

For help in her troubles. 

He of the cup partook, 

The warrier fierce in fight, — 

From Wealtheow. 

Then eager for the fight, 

Began to speak ; 

Beowulf spake, 

Ecghtheow's son : 

The speech of Beowulf ; the story of how the Danish 
king handed over his hall to his keeping ; of how " from 
the moor, under the misty hills, Grendel came stalking"; 
of Beowulf's fight with the monster, and with the mon- 
ster's mother ; and the many other incidents of his life 
and death are told too much in detail in the poem to be 
quoted here, but the whole story is accessible in numerous 
translations,^ and is well worth the reading for its own sake 
and for the spirit of old English hfe that speaks from it. 

Among the few remnants of early Anglo-Saxon litera- 
ture that have come down to us a number of pieces are 
incantations or charms, to be recited in order to find lost 
cattle, to fertilize land, to collect a swarm of bees, or to 
cure snake bite. The following is a charm for bees. 

Take some earth, throw it with thy right hand under thy 30. A charm 
right foot and say, " I take under foot, I am trying what earth ^"'^ ^®®^ 

1 One of the best and most accessible is the prose translation by Pro- 
fessor C. G. Child, in a little volume in the Riverside Literature Series, 
published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



46 



Readings in English History 



avails for everything in the world and against spirits and against 
malice, and against the mickle tongue of man, and against 
displeasure." Throw over them some gravel where they swarm, 



and say, — 



" Sit ye, my ladies, sit. 
Sink ye to earth down; 
Never be so wild. 
As to the woods to fly. 
Be ye as mindful of my good as 
Every man is of meat and estate." 



III. The Conversion to Christianity 

The most important event in the history of England 
at this time is undoubtedly the reconversion of the in- 
habitants of England to Christianity. This religious 
faith and organization had disappeared with the decay 
of Roman Britain, or at least lived on only in the more 
distant parts of the island, Wales and Scotland, so the 
whole work had to be taken up anew from the Continent 
or from these older Christian districts. Fortunately we 
have a clear and full account of the process from Bede, 
who lived not more than a hundred years later than the 
beginning of the missionary efforts. He tells the familiar 
story of Gregory, while still a monk at Rome, some years 
before he became pope, becoming interested in the 
heathen English. 



31. The 
monk Greg- 
ory and the 
slave boys 



It is reported that some merchants, having just arrived at 
Rome, on a certain day exposed many things for sale in the 
market place, and abundance of people resorted thither to 
from England buy. Gregory himself went with the rest, and among other 
things some boys were set to sale, their bodies white, their 
countenances beautiful, and their hair very fine. Having 
viewed them he asked, as is said, from what country or nation 
they were brought, and was told, from the island of Britain, 



Early Saxon England 47 

whose inhabitants were of such personal appearance. He 
again inquired whether these islanders were Christians, or still 
involved in the errors of paganism, and was informed that they 
were pagans. Then, fetching a deep sigh from the bottom of 
his heart, he said, "Alas, what a pity that the author of dark- 
ness is possessed of men of such fair countenances ; and that 
being remarkable for such graceful outward appearance, their 
minds should be void of inward grace." He therefore again 
asked what the name of that nation was, and was answered 
that they were called Angles. " Right," said he, " for they in Latin 
have angelic faces, and it becomes such to be coheirs with the ^"si*;S are 

. Anglt and 

angels in heaven." Then he proceeded, " What is the name angels angeli 
of the province from which they are brought? " It was replied 
that the natives of that province were called Deiri. " Truly 
are they De ira,''' said he, " withdrawn from wrath and called 
to the mercy of Christ." " How is the king of that province 
called?" They told him his name was ^Ua, and he, alluding 
to the name, said, "yEHaluia, the praise of God the Creator 
must be sung in those parts." 

Then repairing to the bishop of the Roman apostolical see 
(for he was not himself then made pope), he entreated him to 
send some ministers of the word into Britain to the nation of 
the English, by whom it might be converted to Christ. 

Although no mission was sent out at this time, after 
Gregory became pope he retained his interest in the 
conversion of the heathen inhabitants of England, and 
eventually it became practicable to send out the well- 
known expedition under Augustine, whose reception in 
England is described in the next extract. 

Augustine, thus strengthened by the confirmation of the 32- Bede's 

blessed father Gregory, returned to the work of the word of ^c<^°"° ° 

b J ■> . . , Augustine's 

God, with the servants of Christ, and arrived in Britain. The mission (597) 
powerful Ethelbert was at that time king of Kent. He had 
extended his dominions as far as the great river Humber, by 
which the Southern Saxons are divided from the Northern. 
On the east of Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, 



48 Readings in English History 

according to the English way of reckoning, six hundred hides, 
divided from the other land by the river Wantsum, which 
is about three furlongs over, and fordable only in two places, 
for both ends of it run into the sea. In this island landed the 
servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as 
is reported, nearly forty men. 

They had, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, taken 
interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to Ethel- 
bert, signified that they were come from Rome, and brought 
a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to all that 
took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom 
that would never end, with the living and true God. The king, 
having heard this, ordered them to stay in that island where 
they had landed, and that they should be furnished with all 
necessaries, till he should consider what to do with them. For 
he had before heard of the Christian religion, having a Chris- 
tian wife, of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha, 
whom he had received from her parents upon condition that 
she should be permitted to practice her religion with the bishop 
Luidhard, who was sent with her to preserve her faith. 
Ethelbert's Some days after, the king came into the island and, sitting 
fear of magic -^^ ^^ open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be 
brought into his presence. For he had taken precaution that 
they should not come to him in any house, lest, according to 
an ancient superstition, if they practiced any magical arts, 
they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. 
But they came furnished with divine, not with magic virtue, 
bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our 
Lord and Saviour painted on a board ; and singing the litany, 
they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal salva- 
tion both of themselves and of those to whom they were come. 
When they had sat down, pursuant to the king's commands, 
and preached to him and his attendants there present the word 
of life, the king answered thus : " Your words and promises 
are very fair, but as they are new to us, and of uncertain 
import, I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake that 
which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. 
But because you are come from far into my kingdom, and, as I 



Ea?-/}' Saxoji England 49 

conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you 
believe to be true and most beneficial, we will not molest you, 
but give you favorable entertainment, and take care to supply 
you with your necessary sustenance ; nor do we forbid you to 
preach and gain as many as you can to your religion." Accord- 
ingly he permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, 
which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and, pursuant . 
to his promise, besides allowing them sustenance, did not refuse 
them liberty to preach. It is reported that as they drew near 
to the city, after their manner, with the holy cross and the 
image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they sang 
in concert this litany : " We beseech thee, O Lord, in all thy 
mercy, that thy anger and wrath be turned away from this city, 
and from thy holy house, because we have sinned. Alleluiah." 

There was on the east side of the city a church dedicated The oldest 
to St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, ^^'^''^^ ^"^ 
wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Chris- 
tian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, 
to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to baptize, till the king, 
being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly 
and build or repair churches in all places. 

The next great step in the conversion of England was 
taken about thirty years afterward, when Paulinus, a fol- 
lower of Augustine, presented a letter from the pope to 
Edwin, king of Northumbria, who called a council of his 
leading men to consider the matter, as described by Bede. 

The king, hearing these words, answered that he was both 33- Bede's 

willing and bound to receive the faith which he taught, but f^count of 
° ... the conver- 

that he would confer about it with his principal friends and sion of North- 
counselors, to the end that if they also were of his opinion, they umbria (627) 
might all together be cleansed in Christ, the fountain of life. 
Paulinus consenting, the king did as he said ; for, holding a 
council with the wise men, he asked of every one in particular 
what he thought of the new doctrine of the Deity that was 
preached. To which the chief of his own priests, Coifi, immedi- 
ately answered : " O king, consider what this is which is now 



50 Readings in English History 

Coifi's preached to us ; for I verily declare to you, what I have learned 

aigument ^^^ certain, that the religion which we have hitherto professed 
has no virtue, no usefulness in it. For none of your people 
has applied himself more diligently to the worship of our gods 
than I ; and yet there are many who receive greater favors 
from you, and obtain greater dignities than I, and are more 
. prosperous in all their undertakings. Now if the gods were 
good for anything, they would rather forward me, who have 
been more careful to serve them. It remains, therefore, that 
if upon examination you find those new doctrines, which are 
now preached to us, better and more efficacious, we immedi- 
ately receive them without any delay." 
The parable of Another of the king's chief men, approving of his words and 
the sparrow exhortations, presently added: "The present life of man on 
earth, O king, seems to me, in comparison of that time which is 
unknown to us, like the swift flight of a sparrow through the room 
wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and 
ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain 
and snow prevail abroad ; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one 
door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within is 
safe from the wintry storm ; but after a short space of fair 
weather he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the 
dark winter from which he had emerged. So this life of man 
appears for a short space, but of what went before, or what is 
to follow, we are utterly ignorant. If, therefore, this new 
doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to 
deserve to be followed." The other elders and king's coun- 
selors, by divine inspiration, spoke to the same effect. 

But Coifi added that he wished more attentively to hear 
Paulinus discourse concerning the God whom he preached; 
which he having by the king's command performed, Coifi, 
hearing his words, cried out : " I have long since been sensible 
that there was nothing in that which we worshiped ; because 
the more diligently I sought after truth in that worship, the 
less I found it. But now I freely confess that such truth 
appears in this preaching as can confer on us the gifts of life, 
of salvation, and of eternal happiness. For which reason I 
advise, O king, that we instantly abjure and set fire to those 



Early Saxon England 5^ 

temples and altars which we have consecrated without reaping 
any benefit from them." 

In short, the king publicly gave his license to Paulinus to 
preach the gospel, and, renouncing idolatry, declared that he 
received the faith of Christ ; and when he inquired of the high 
priest who should first profane the altars and temples of their 
idols, with the inclosures that were about them, he answered : 
" I ; for who can more properly than myself destroy those 
things which I worshiped through ignorance, for an example 
to all others, through the wisdom which has been given me 
by the true God?" Then immediately, in contempt of his The profana- 
former superstitions, he desired the king to furnish him with tionof the 
arms and a stallion ; and mounting the same, he set out to sacred 
destroy the idols ; for it was not lawful before for the high places 
priest either to carry arms, or to ride except on a mare. 
Having, therefore, girt a sword about him, with a spear in his 
hand, he mounted the king's stallion and proceeded to the 
idols. The multitude, beholding it, concluded he was dis- 
tracted ; but he lost no time, for as soon as he was near the 
temple he profaned the same, casting into it the spear which 
he held ; and, rejoicing in the knowledge of the true God, he 
commanded his companions to destroy the temple, with all 
its inclosures, by fire. This place where the idols were is 
still shown, not far from York, to the eastward, beyond the 
river Derwent, and is now called Godmundingham, where the 
high priest, by the inspiration of the true God, profaned and 
destroyed the altars which he had himself consecrated. 

Christianity w^as soon spread among the Northum- 
brians, but after the death of Edwin it again declined 
and the people generally returned to heathenism. When 
it was reintroduced it was by missionaries from Scot- 
land, for the northwestern part of the island had remained 
Christian from Roman times, and its clergy had recently 
undertaken active missionary efforts. Bede goes on to 
tell of this conversion ilnder the new king of North- 
umbria, Oswald. 



52 Readings in English History 

The recon- The same Oswald, as soon as he ascended the throne, being 

version of the desirous that all his nation should receive the Christian faith, 

north by , r 1 1 J r 1 1 

missionaries vvhereof he had found happy experience m vanquishing the 
from Scot- barbarians, sent to the elders of the Scots, among whom him- 
an ( 35- ^^j^ ^^^^ j^j^ followers, when in banishment, had received the 
sacrament of baptism, desiring they would send him a bishop, 
by whose instruction and ministry the English nation which he 
governed might be taught the advantages and receive the sac- 
raments of the Christian faith. Nor were they slow in granting 
his request, but sent him Bishop Aidan, a man of singular meek- 
ness, piety, and moderation ; zealous in the cause of God, 
though not altogether according to knowledge; for he was 
wont to keep Easter Sunday, according to the custom of his 
country, which we have before so often mentioned, from the 
fourteenth to the twentieth moon ; the northern province of 
the Scots and all the nations of the Picts celebrating Easter 
then after that manner. 

The introduction of Christianity into East Anglia and 
the higher intellectual interests which it brought with it 
are brought out clearly in Bede's short account of the 
conversion of that kingdom. 

34. Conver- Edwin was SO zealous for the worship of truth that he like- 

t'^Vl*^^ wise persuaded Eorpwald, king of the East Saxons and son of 
Redwald, to abandon his idolatrous superstitions and with his 
whole province to receive the faith and sacraments of Christ. 
And indeed his father Redwald had long before been admitted 
to the sacrament of the Christian faith in Kent, but in vain ; 
for on his return home he was led astray by his wife and cer- 
tain perverse heathens, and turned back from the sincerity of 
the faith ; and thus his latter state was worse than his former ; 
so that like the ancient Samaritan he seemed at the same time 
to serve Christ and the gods whom he had served before ; and 
in the same temple he had an altar to sacrifice to Christ, and 
another small one to offer victims to devils. 

The kingdom of the East Angles after the death of Eorpwald, 
the successor of Redwald, was subject to his brother Sigebert, 



Em-ly Saxon England 53 

a good and religious man, who long before had been baptized The king 
in France, whilst he lived there in banishment, flying from the ° °^V ^ 

' -' ° example of 

enmity of Redwald ; and returning home, as soon as he as- France in 
cended the throne, being desirous to imitate the good institu- establishing 
tions which he had seen in France, he set up a school for youth 
to be instructed in literature, and was assisted therein by Bishop 
Felix, who came to him from Kent and who furnished him with 
masters and teachers after the manner of that country. 

The last selection we shall take from Bede's Ecclesias- 
tical History is the story of Casdmon, one of the earliest 
and most popular of English poets. The events men- 
tioned occurred about the year 700, in Whitby Abbey 
in Northumbria, when Hilda was abbess. 

There was in the monastery of this abbess a certain brother 35- How 
especially distinguished by the grace of God, since he was ''*^'"°^ 
wont to make poems breathing of piety and religion. What- a poet 
ever he learned of sacred Scripture by the mouth of inter- 
preters, he in a little time gave forth in poetical language 
composed with the greatest sweetness and depth of feeling, in 
English, his native tongue ; and the effect of his poems was 
ever and anon to incite the souls of many to despise the world 
and long for the heavenly life. Not but that there were others 
after him among the people of the Angles who sought to com- 
pose religious poetry ; but none there was who could equal him, 
for he did not learn the art of song from men, nor through the 
means of any man ; rather did he receive it as a free gift from 
God. Hence it came to pass that he never was able to compose 
poetry of a frivolous or idle sort ; none but such as pertained 
to religion suited a tongue so religious as his. Living always 
the life of a layman until well advanced in years, he had never 
learned the least thing about poetry. In fact, so little did he Singing at a 
understand of it that when at a feast it would be ruled that ^^^'^'^ 
every one present should, for the entertainment of the others, 
sing in turn, he would, as soon as he saw the harp coming any- 
where near him, jump up from the table in the midst of the ban- 
queting, leave the place, and make the best of his way home. 



54 Readings in English History 

Credmon's This he had done at a certain time, and, leaving the house 
^^^"^ where the feast was in progress, had gone out to the stable 
where the care of the cattle had been assigned to him for that 
night. There, when it was time to go to sleep, he had lain 
down for that purpose. But while he slept some one stood by 
him in a dream, greeted him, called him by name, and said, 
" Caedmon, sing me something." To this he replied, " I know 
not how to sing, and that is the very reason why I left a feast 
and came here, because I could not sing." But the one who 
was talking with him answered, " No matter, you are to ^ing 
for me." " Well, then," said he, " what is it that I must sing? " 
*' Sing," said the other, " the beginning of created things." 
At this reply he immediately began to sing verses in praise of 
God the Creator, verses that he had never heard, and whose 
meaning was as follows : " Now should we praise the Keeper of 
the heavenly kingdom, the might of the Creator and His 
counsel, the works of the Father of glory; how He, though 
God eternal, became the Author of all marvels. He, the al- 
mighty Guardian of mankind, first created for the sons of men 
heaven as a roof, and afterwards the earth." This is the mean- 
ing, but not the precise order, of the words which he sang in 
his sleep ; for no songs, however well they may be composed, 
can be rendered from one language into another without loss 
of grace and dignity. When he rose from sleep he remem- 
bered all that he had sung while in that state, and shortly after 
added, in the same strain, many more words of a hymn befitting 
the majesty of God. 

In the morning he went to the steward who was set over 
him, and showed him what gift he had acquired. Being led to 
the abbess Hilda, he was bidden to make known his dream and 
repeat his poem to the many learned men who were present, 
that they all might give their judgment concerning the thing 
which he related, and whence it was ; and they were unani- 
mously of the opinion that heavenly grace had been bestowed 
upon him by the Lord. They then set about expounding to 
him a piece of sacred history or teaching, bidding him, if he 
could, to turn it into the rhythm of poetry. This he under- 
took to do, and departed. In the morning he returned and 



Early Saxon England 55 

delivered the passage assigned to him, converted into an excel- 
lent poem. 

The abbess, honoring the grace of God as displayed in the 
man, shortly afterward instructed him to forsake the condition of 
a layman and take upon himself the vows of a monk. She there- 
upon received him into the monastery with his whole family, 
and made him one of the company of the brethren, command- 
ing that he should be taught the whole course and succession 
of biblical history. He in turn, calling to mind what he was 
able to learn by the hearing of the ear, and, as it were, like a 
clean animal chewing upon it as a cud, transformed it all into 
most agreeable poetry ; and, by echoing it back in a more 
harmonious form, made his teachers in turn listen to him. 
Thus he rehearsed the creation of the w'orld, the origin of man, Many Bible 
and all the story of Genesis ; the departure of Israel from stones turned 
Egypt and their entry into the Promised Land, together with 
many other histories from Holy Writ ; the incarnation of our 
Lord, his passion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven ; the 
coming of the Holy Ghost and the teaching of the apostles ; 
moreover he made many poems about the terror of the future 
judgment, the awfulness of the pains of hell, and the joy of the 
heavenly kingdom, besides a great number about the mercies 
and judgments of God. In all these he exerted himself to allure 
men from the love of wickedness, and to impel them to the 
love and practice of righteous living ; for he was a very devout 
man, humbly submissive to the monastic rule, but full of con- 
suming zeal against those who were disposed to act otherwise. 

Scarcely more than a dozen words of the poetry of 
Caedmon have come down to us. But many poems were 
written in somewhat later times in imitation of him. The 
following is a selection from one of the best of these. 

Then the heroes' hearts every one grew hopeless, 36. The Ex- 

For afar they saw, on the southern ways, °^"^ °* *^^ 

The war-array of Pharaoh forward faring. Israel from 

Sparkled his battle-line, bucklers they were bearing ; Egypt 
Already whirred the arrows, onward moved the war, 



56 Readings in English History 

Shields were brightly shining, and the trumpets sang ; 

There the banners waved, where the war-troop trod. 

In circles soared above them the vultures, slaughter-seekers, 

Hungry for the fighting ; above them flew the raven, 

Dusky carrion-lover, on his dewy wing, 

Over those dead warriors. There the wolves howled 

A direful even-song, deeming their food was nigh. 

The following letter from Charles 'the Great to Offa, 
king of Mercia, will indicate the increasing connection of 
England with the rest of the world, the practice of English 
pilgrims and traders going to Italy, and the short-lived 
prominence of Mercia in England in the eighth century. 

37. Charles Charles, by the grace of God king of the Franks and Lom- 
the Great to bards, ])atrician of the Romans, to his esteemed and dearest 
Mercia (796) brother Offa, king of the Mercians, sendeth health ; First, we 
give thanks to Cod Almighty for the purity of the Catholic faith, 
which we find laudably expressed in your letters. Concerning 
pilgrims, who for the love of God or for the salvation of 
their souls wish to visit the residence of the holy apostles, let 
them go peaceably without any molestation ; but if persons not 
seeking the cause of religion but that of gain be found among 
them, let them pay the customary tolls in proper places. We 
will, too, that traders have due protection within our kingdom, 
according to our mandate, and if in any place they suffer 
wrongful oppression, let them appeal to us or our judges, and 
we will see full justice done. Let your grace also be apprised 
that we have sent some token of our regard, out of our dal- 
matics and palls, to each episcopal see of your kingdom and 
The late of Ethelred's, as an almsgiving, for the sake of our apostolical 
P°P® lord Adrian, earnestly begging that you would order him to be 

prayed for, not as doubting that his blessed soul is at rest, but 
to show our esteem and regard to our dearest friend. More- 
over we have sent somewhat out of the treasures of those 
earthly riches which the Lord Jesus has granted to us of his 
unmerited bounty, for the metropolitan cities ; and for yourself 
a belt, an Hungarian sword, and two silk cloaks. 



CHAPTER V 

LATER SAXON ENGLAND, A.D. 830-975 

I. The Attacks of the Danes 

The internal conflicts among the Angle and Saxon 
tribes, which had been constant almost from the time of 
the settlement, continued even while they were all alike 
suffering from the storms of the Danish invasion. The 
learned Englishman, Alcuin, who was now at the court 
of Charles the Great, wrote the following letter to the 
Kentishmen warning them against their disunion and 
contests in church and state, in the face of this threat- 
ening invasion. 

To the most excellent nation and praiseworthy people and 38. Alcuin 

to the imperial kingdom of the people of Canterbury, the to th®?^°P^? 
, , . , • 1 of Kent (797) 

humble Alcuui sends greetmg. 

... A very great danger threatens this island and the people 
dwelling in it. Behold a thing never before heard of, a pagan 
people is becoming accustomed to laying waste our shores with 
piratical robbery ; and our own people, the Angles, are dis- 
agreeing arpong themselves as to kingdoms and kings. There 
is scarcely any one, a thing which I do not say without tears, 
found of the ancient lineage of kings, and the more uncertain 
the origin the less the bravery. In like manner throughout the 
churches of Christ teachers of truth have perished ; almost all 
follow after worldly vanities and hold the regular discipline 
in aversion : even their warriors desire avarice rather than jus- 
tice. Read Gildas,^ the wisest Briton, and you will see why the 
parents of the Britons lost their kingdom and fatherland ; then 

1 See No. 23 and No. 25. 
57 



58 Readiiigs in English History 

consider yourselves and you will find things almost the same. 
Fear for yourselves the statement of the very truth which has 
been given in regard to the church, saying, " Every kingdom 
divided against itself will not stand." Behold how great a 
division there is between the people and the tribes of the 
Angles ; and on this account they are failing in their duty to 
themselves, because they do not preserve among themselves 
peace and faith. Recall, if it may be done, your bishop, Adel- 
hard, a man wise and venerable ; strengthen then the state of 
your kingdom by his advice, removing the customs displeasing 
to God ; study to do those things which will tend to call upon 
you his mercy. It is not well that the seat of St. Augustine, 
our first preacher, should remain vacant ; no one else can in 
any way be ordained in Adelhard's place. It is ruinous to 
people everywhere not to obey the priests and to drive out 
from their midst the preachers of safety. Subject yourselves 
humbly to your bishop, the minister of your safety, that divine 
grace may follow you in all your works. Believe me, in no 
other way can you retain God's favor to you ; through him you 
An appeal can, I believe, have peace, and hope for eternal safety. Enter 
for unity and jj-,|-q ^ ^\2,Vi for your prosperity, act manfully, and you will find 
against the ^"^ ^^'^^^ ^ "^^"^^ ^^ entreaties, prayers, and fasting, that divine 
invaders mercy may be gained for you, that it may preserve you in 
peace and safety, that it may grant to you a safe dwelling in 
your fatherland and a glorious kingdom in the eternal home. 
O worthy and venerable brethren, may the right hand of God 
Omnipotent protect and rule over you, and may it deem you 
worthy of being exalted in present happiness and eternal bliss. 

The invasion of England by bands of marauders from 
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden was part of a long series 
of attacks that fell on all western Europe alike during 
the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. England proba- 
bly suffered more than any other country, since she lay 
farthest north and her coasts were the most exposed. 
The entries in the Chronicle (see No. 27), as they pro- 
gress, are more and more completely devoted to the sad 



Later Saxon England 59 

tale of the depredations of these "■ Danes," " Northmen," 
"heathen," or "the army," as they are called. 

A.D. 787. This year Bertric took to wife Eadburga, King 39. Extracts 
Offa's daughter : and in his days first came three ships of ^^""^ *^^ 

1 A 1 1 11 Anglo- 

Northmen out of Denmark. And then the reeve rode to the saxon 
place, and would have driven them to the king's town, because curomcie 
he knew not who they were : and they there slew him. These 
were the first ships of Danish men which sought the land of 
the English nation. 

A.D. 793. This year dire forewarnings came over the land of 
the Northumbrians and miserably terrified the people ; there 
were excessive whirlwinds, and lightnings ; and fiery dragons 
were seen flying in the air. A great famine soon followed these 
tokens ; and a little after that, in the same year, on the 6th 
before the Ides of January, the ravaging of heathen men 
lamentably destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne through 
rapine and slaughter. And Siga died on the 8th before the 
Kalends of March. 

A.D. 794. This year Pope Adrian and King Offa died; and 
Ethelred, king of the Northumbrians, was slain by his own 
people on the 13th before the Kalends of May; and Bishop 
Ceilwulf and Bishop Eadbald went away from the land. And 
Egfert succeeded to the kingdom of the Mercians and died the 
same year. And Eadbert, who by a second name was called 
Pren, obtained the kingdom of Kent. And Ethelherd the 
ealdorman died on the Kalends of August ; and the heathens 
ravaged among the Northumbrians, and plundered Egfert's 
monastery at the mouth of the Wear ; and there one of their 
leaders was slain, and also some of their ships were wrecked by 
a tempest ; and many of them were drowned, and some came 
on shore alive, and they were soon slain at the river's mouth. 

A.D. 823. This year there was a battle between the Welsh 
and the men of Devon at Camelford : and the same year Egbert, 
king of the West Saxons, and Bernulf, king of the Mercians, 
fought at Wilton, and Egbert got the victory, and there was 
great slaughter made. He then sent from the army his son 
Ethelwulf, and Ealstan his bishop, and Wulfherd his ealdorman, 



6o 



Readings in Englisli History 



Egbert, king 
of the West 
Saxons, con- 
quers the 
kings of the 
Mercians and 
Kentishmen 
and makes 
them subor- 
dinate to 
iiimself 

Also the 
South and 
East Saxons 
and the kings 
of East 
Anglia and 
Northumbria 



Sacking of 
Canterbury 
and London 



into Kent with a large force, and they drove Baldred the king 
northwards over the Thames. And the men of Kent, and the 
men of Surrey, and the South Saxons, and the East Saxons 
submitted to him ; for formerly they had been unjustly forced 
from his kin. And the same year the king of the East Angles 
and the people sought the alliance and protection of King 
Egbert for dread of the Mercians ; and the same year the East 
Angles slew Bernulf, king of Mercia. 

A.D. 827. Egbert led an army to Dore against the North- 
umbrians, and they there offered him obedience and alle- 
giance, and with that they separated. 

A.D. 845. This year Eanwulf the ealdorman, with the men 
of Somerset, and Bishop Ealstan, and Osric the ealdorman, 
with the men of Dorset, fought at the mouth of the Parret 
against the Danish army, and there made great slaughter, and 
got the victory. 

A.D. 851. This year Ceorl the ealdorman, with the men of 
Devonshire, fought against the heathen men at Wembury, and 
there made great slaughter and got the victory. And the same 
year King Athelstan and Elchere the ealdorman fought on ship- 
board, and slew a great number of the enemy at Sandwich in 
Kent, and took nine ships, and put the others to flight ; and 
the heathen men, for the first time, remained over winter in 
Thanet. And the same year came three hundred and fifty 
ships to the mouth of the Thames, and the crews landed, and 
took Canterbury and London by storm, and put to flight Berht- 
wulf. King of the Mercians, with his army, and then went south 
over the Thames into Surrey ; and there King Ethelwulf and 
his son Ethelbald, with the army of the West Saxons, fought 
against them at Ockley, and made the greatest slaughter among 
the heathen army that we have heard reported to the present 
day, and got the victory. 

A.D. 855. This year the heathen men, for the first time, 
remained over winter in Sheppey ; and the same year King 
Ethelwulf gave by charter the tenth part of his land through- 
out his realm for the glory of God and his own eternal salva- 
tion. And the same year he went to Rome in great state, and 
dwelt there twelve months, and then returned homewards. 



Late}- Saxon England 6i 

And then Charles, king of the Franks, gave him his daughter to 
wife ; and after that he came to his people, and they were 
glad of it. And about two years after he came from France he 
died, and his body lies at Winchester. Then Ethelwulf's two 
sons succeeded to the kingdom ; Ethelbald succeeded to the 
kingdom of the West Saxons ; and Ethelbert to the kingdom 
of the Kentishmen, and to the kingdom of the East Saxons, 
and to Surrey, and to the kingdom of the South Saxons ; and 
then Ethelbald reigned five years. Alfred, his third son, he had 
sent to Rome ; and when Pope Leo heard say that Ethel- 
wulf was dead, he consecrated Alfred king, and held him as 
his spiritual son at confirmation, even as his father Ethelwulf 
had requested on sending him thither. 

A.D. 868. This year the army went into Mercia to Notting- The 7f'//a« 
ham, and there took up their winter quarters. And Burhred, king °|, 'Mercia 
of the Mercians, and his witan begged of Ethelred, king of the king to seek 
West Saxons, and of Alfred his brother that they would help help against 
them, that they might fight agaiilst the army. And then they 
went with the West Saxon power into Mercia as far as Not- 
tingham, and there they met with the army within the fortress, 
and besieged them therein : but there was no great battle, 
and the Mercians made peace with the army. 

A.D. 871. This year the army came to Reading in Wessex; 
and three days after this, two of their earls rode forth. Then 
Ethelwulf the ealdorman met them at Englefield, and there 
fought against them, and got the victory ; and there one of 
them, whose name was Sidrac, was slain. About three days 
after this. King Ethelred and Alfred his brother led a large 
force to Reading, and fought against the army, and there was 
great slaughter made on either hand. And Ethelwulf the eal- 
dorman was slain, and the Danish men had possession of the 
battlefield. And about four days after this, King Ethelred 
and Alfred his brother fought against the whole army at Ash- 
down. And they were in two bodies — in the one w-ere Bag- 
sac and Halfdene, the heathen kings, and in the other were 
the earls. And then King Ethelred fought against the division 
under the kings, and there King Bagsac was slain ; and Alfred 
his brother against the division under the earls, and there Earl 



62 Readings in English History 

Sidrac the elder was slain, Earl Sidrac the younger, and Earl 

Osbern, and Earl Frene, and Earl Harold ; and both divisions 

of the army were put to flight, and many thousands slain ; and 

they continued fighting until night. 

A year of And about fourteen days after this, King Ethelred and 

battles be- Alfred his brother fought against the army at Basing, and 

West Saxons there the Danes obtained the victory. And about two months 

and the after this, King Ethelred and Alfred his brother fought against 

Danes ^j^g army at Marden ; and they were in two bodies, and they 

put both to flight, and during a great part of the day were 

victorious; and there was great slaughter on either hand; but 

the Danes had possession of the battlefield ; and there Bishop 

Heahmund was slain, and many good men. And after this 

battle there came a great army in the summer to Reading. And 

Accession of after this, over Easter, King Ethelred died ; and he reigned 

Q.'^t ^ five years and his body lies at Winburnminster. Then Alfred 

the son of Ethelwulf, his brother, succeeded to the kingdom of 

the West Saxons. 

And about one month after this. King Alfred with a small 
band fought against the whole army at Wilton, and put them 
to flight for a good part of the day ; but the Danes had pos- 
session of the battlefield. And this year nine general battles 
were fought against the army in the kingdom south of the 
Thames, besides which, Alfred the king's brother, and single 
ealdormen, and king's thanes oftentimes made incursions on 
them, which were not counted ; and within the year nine earls 
and one king were slain. And that year the West Saxons 
made peace with the army. 

A.D. 880. This year the army went from Cirencester to 
East Anglia, and settled in the land, and apportioned it. And 
that same year the army, which previously had sat down at 
Fulham, went over sea to Ghent in France, and besieged it 
one year. 

A.D. 882. This year the army went up along the banks of 
the Meuse far into France, and there stayed one year. And that 
same year King Alfred went out to sea with his ships, and 
fought against the forces of four ships of Danish men, and 
took two of the ships, and the men were slain that were in 



Later Saxon England 63 

them ; and the forces of two ships surrendered to him, and 
they were sorely distressed and wounded before they surren- 
dered to him. 

II. Alfred and his Times 

It was as leader in these struggles with the Danes 
that King Alfred obtained his principal fame, although 
he had many other interests and ambitions. We possess 
a life of Alfred, from his earliest childhood, written by 
Asser, a Welsh bishop, whom the king invited to his 
court in 884 and appointed bishop of Sherborne. This 
work, as we have it, has been suspected of being in whole 
or in part a forgery, but the most careful scholars now 
believe that the greater part of it is genuine. 

I think it right in this place to briefly relate as much as has 40. Extracts 
come to mv knowledge about the character of my revered lord ^"^""^ Asser's 

Life of 

Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, during the years that he was Alfred (894) 
an infant and a boy. 

He was loved by his father and mother, and even by all the 
people, above all his brothers, and was educated altogether at 
the court of the king. As he advanced through the years of 
infancy and youth, his form appeared more comely than that 
of his brothers; in look, in speech, and in manners he was 
more graceful than they. His noble nature implanted in him 
from the cradle a love of wisdom above all things ; but — with 
shame be it spoken ! — by the unworthy neglect of his parents 
and nurses he remained illiterate even till he was twelve years 
old or more ; but he listened with serious attention to the Saxon 
poems which he often heard recited, and easily retained them 
in his docile memory. He was a zealous practicer of hunting 
in all its branches, and hunted with great assiduity and success ; 
for skill and good fortune in this art, as in all others, are among 
the gifts of God, as we also have often witnessed. 

On a certain day, therefore, his mother was showing him and 
his brothers a Saxon book of poetry, which she held in her hand. 



64 Readings in English History 

Alfred's and said, "Whichever of you shall the soonest learn this vol- 

illumi 
book 



illuminated ^^^^^^ gj^^jj j^^^^ j^. ^^^ j^jg own." Stimulated by these words, or 



rather by the divine inspiration, and allured by the beautifully 

illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, he spoke 

before all his brothers, who though his seniors in age were not 

so in grace, and answered, " Will you really give that book to 

one of us, that is to say, to him who can first understand and 

repeat it to you? " At this his mother smiled with satisfaction, 

and confirmed what she had before said. Upon which the boy 

took the book out of her hand, and went to his master to read 

it, and in due time brought it to his mother and recited it. . . . 

Alfred be- The same year the aforesaid Alfred, who had been up to 

comes king |.j^^|. ^jj^^g ^j^j ^^ secondary rank, whilst his brothers were 

(871) 

alive, now, by God's permission, undertook the government of 

the whole kingdom, amid the acclamations of all the people ; 
and if he had chosen, he might have done so before, whilst his 
brother above named was still alive ; for in wisdom and other 
qualities he surpassed all his brothers, and, moreover, was war- 
like and victorious in all his wars. 

And when he had reigned one month, almost against his 
will, for he did not think he could alone withstand the mul- 
titude and ferocity of the pagans, though even during his 
brothers' lives he had borne the woes of many, he fought a 
battle with a few men, and on very unequal terms, against all 
the army of the pagans, at a hill called Wilton, on the south 
bank of the river Wily, from which river the whole of that 
district is named. After a long and fierce engagement the 
pagans, seeing the danger they were in, and no longer able 
to bear the attack of their enemies, turned their backs and 
fled. But oh, shame to say, they deceived their too auda- 
cious pursuers, and again rallying, gained the victory. Let 
no one be surprised that the Christians had but a small num- 
ber of men, for the Saxons had been worn out by eight battles 
in one year against the pagans, of whom they had slain one 
king, nine earls, and innumerable troops of soldiers, besides 
endless skirmishes, both by night and by day, in which the 
oft-named Alfred and all his chieftains, with their men, and 
several of his ministers, were engaged without rest or cessation. 



Later Saxon England 65 

How many thousand pagans fell in these numberless skirmishes 
over and above those who were slain in the eight battles above 
mentioned God alone knows. In the same year the Saxons 
made peace with the pagans, on condition that they should 
take their departure, and they did so. . . . 

In the year 877 the pagans, on the approach of autumn, Alfred's 
partly settled in Exeter, and partly marched for plunder into •^"''^ing of a 
Mercia. The number of that disorderly crew increased every 
day, so that if thirty thousand of them were slain in one 
battle, others took their places to double the number. Then 
King Alfred commanded boats and galleys, i.e. long ships, to 
be built throughout the kingdom, in order to offer battle by 
sea to the enemy as they were coming. On board of these he 
placed seamen, and appointed them to watch the seas. Mean- 
while he went himself to Exeter, where the pagans were win- 
tering, and having shut them up within the walls, laid siege to 
the town. He also gave orders to his sailors to prevent them 
from obtaining any supplies by sea ; and his sailors were en- 
countered by a fleet of one hundred and twenty ships full of 
armed soldiers, who were come to help their countrymen. As 
soon as the king's men knew they were filled with pagan sol- 
diers, they leaped to their arms and bravely attacked those 
barbaric tribes. The pagans, who had now for almost a 
month been tossed and almost wrecked among the waves of 
the sea, fought vainly against them ; their bands were discom- 
fited in a moment, and all were sunk and drowned in the sea, 
at a place called Swanwich. 

In the same year the army of pagans leaving Wareham, 
partly on horseback and partly by water, arrived at Swanwich, 
where one hundred and twenty of their ships were lost ; and 
King Alfred pursued their land army as far as Exeter ; there he 
made a covenant with them, and took hostages that they would 
depart. . . . 

At the same time the above-named Alfred, king of the West The lowest 
Saxons, with a few of his nobles and certain vassals and soldiers P°'"*^ !." 

' Alfred's 

used to lead an unquiet life among the woodlands of Somerset, fortunes 
in great tribulation, for he had none of the necessaries of life 
except what he could forage openly or stealthily. . . . The 



66 Readings in English History 

aforesaid Alfred often fell into such great misery that some- 
times none of his subjects knew where he was or what had 
become of him. . . . 

The Christians attacked the pagans suddenly in the morning, 
and from the first cut them down in great numbers, slaying also 
their king, so that few escaped in their ships ; and there they 
gained a very large booty, and amongst other things the stand- 
ard called Raven; for they say that the three sisters of Hing- 
war and Hubba, daughters of Lodobroch, wove that flag and 
got it ready in one day. They say, moreover, that in every 
battle, wherever that flag went before them, if they were to 
gain the victory a live raven would appear flying in the middle 
of the flag ; but if they were doomed to be defeated it would 
hang down motionless, and this was often proved to be so. . . . 
Summer The next morning he removed to Edington, and there 

of 878 fought bravely and perseveringly against all the army of the 

great pagans, whom, with the divine help, he defeated with 
great slaughter, and pursued them flying to their fortifica- 
tion. Immediately he s-lew all the men, and carried off all 
the booty that he could find without the fortress, to which he 
immediately laid siege with all his army ; and when he had 
been there fourteen days, the pagans, driven by famine, cold, 
fear, and last of all by despair, asked for peace, on the condi- 
tion that they should give the king as many hostages as he 
pleased, but should receive none of him in return, in which 
form they had never before made a treaty with any one. The 
king, hearing that, took pity upon them, and received such 
hostages as he chose ; after which the pagans swore that 
they would immediately leave the kingdom ; and their king, 
Guthrum, promised to embrace Christianity, and receive bap- 
tism at Alfred's hands. All of which articles he and his men 
The baptism fulfilled as they had promised. For after seven weeks Guthrum, 
"^ w^ h"^"'" ^"^^ °^ ^^^ pagans, with thirty men chosen from the army, 
came to Alfred at a place called Aller, near Athelney, and there 
King Alfred, receiving him as his son by adoption, raised him 
up from the holy laver of baptism on the eighth day, at a 
royal villa named Wed more, where the holy chrism was poured 
upon him. After his baptism he remained twelve nights 



Later Saxon England 6y 

with the king, who, with all his nobles, gave him many fine 
houses. . . . 

In the meantime, the king, during the frequent wars and 
other interruptions of this present life, the invasions of the pa- 
gans, and his own daily infirmities of body, continued to carry on 
the government, and to exercise hunting in all its branches; 
to teach his workers in gold and artificers of all kinds, his fal- 
coners, hawkers, and dog keepers ; to build houses, majestic 
and good, beyond all the precedents of his ancestors, by his 
new mechanical inventions ; to recite the Saxon books, and Alfred's re- 
especiallv to learn by heart the Saxon poems, and to make ^°''"'^ ^"'^ 

r J ■> 1 • J r J • example 

others learn them. He alone never desisted from studymg 
most diligently, to the best of his ability ; he attended the 
mass and other daily services of religion ; he was frequent in 
psalm singing and prayer, at the hours both of the day and 
the night. He also went to the churches, as we have already 
said, in the night time, to pray secretly and unknown to his 
courtiers ; he bestowed alms and largesses on both natives 
and foreigners of all countries ; he was affable and pleasant to 
all, and curiously eager to investigate things unknown. Many 
Franks, Frisians, Gauls, pagans, Britons, Scots, and Armori- 
cans, noble and ignoble, submitted voluntarily to his dominion ; 
and all of them, according to their nation and deserving, were 
ruled, loved, honored, and enriched with money and power. 
Moreover, the king was in the habit of hearing the divine 
Scriptures read by his own countrymen, or, if by any chance it 
so happened, in company with foreigners, and he attended to 
it with sedulity and solicitude. His bishops, too, and all eccle- 
siastics, his earls and nobles, ministers and friends, were loved 
by him with wonderful affection, and their sons, who were bred 
up in the royal household, were no less dear to him than his 
owTi ; he had them instructed in all kinds of good morals, and, 
among other things, never ceased to teach them letters night 
and day. ... 

But the king's commendable avarice could not be gratified 
even in this ; wherefore he sent messengers beyond the sea to 
Gaul, to procure teachers, and he invited from thence Grim- 
bald, priest and monk, a venerable man, and good singer. 



Alfred's 
court 



68 Readings in English History 

adorned with every kind of ecclesiastical discipline and good 
morals, and most learned in holy Scripture. He also obtained 
from thence John, also priest and monk, a man of most ener- 
getic talents, and learned in all kinds of literary science, and 
skilled in many other arts. By the teaching of these men, the 
king's mind was much enlarged, and he enriched and honored 
them with much influence. 
Arrival of In these times I also came into Saxonland out of the 
Asser at furthest coasts of western Britain ; and when I had passed on my 
way toward him through many intervening provinces, I arrived 
in the country of the Saxons who live on the right hand, 
which in Saxon is called Sussex, under the guidance of some 
of that nation ; and there I first saw him in the royal vill, 
which is called Dene. He received me with kindness, and 
among other conversation, he asked me eagerly to devote my- 
self to his service and become his friend, to leave everything 
which I possessed on the left, or western bank of the Severn, 
and he promised he would give more than an equivalent for it 
in his own dominions. . . . 

On a certain day we were both of us sitting in the king's 
chamber, talking on all kinds of subjects, as usual, and it hap- 
pened that I read to him a quotation out of a certain book. 
He heard it attentively with both his ears, and addressed me 
with a thoughtful mind, showing me at the same moment a 
book which he carried in his bosom, wherein the daily courses 
and psalms and prayers which he had read in his youth were 
written, and he commanded me to write the same quotation in 
that book. Hearing this, and perceiving his ingenuous benev- 
olence and devout desire of studying the words of divine wis- 
dom, I gave, though in secret, boundless thanks to Almighty 
God, who had implanted such a love of wisdom in the king's 
heart. But I could not find any empty space in that book 
wherein to write that quotation, for it was already full of vari- 
ous matters ; wherefore I made a little delay, principally that 
I might stir up the bright intellect of the king to a higher ac- 
quaintance with the divine testimonies. Upon his urging me 
to make haste and write it quickly, I said to him, " Are you 
willing that I should write that quotation on some separate leaf? 



book of 
selections 



Later Saxon England 69 

For it is not certain whether we shall not find one or more 

other such extracts which will please you ; and if that should 

so happen, we shall be glad that we have kept them apart." 

" Your plan is good," said he ; and I gladly made haste to get 

ready a sheet, in the beginning of which I wrote what he bade 

me ; and on that same day I wrote therein, as I had antici- King Alfred's 

pated, no less than three other quotations which pleased him ; 

and from that time we daily talked together, and found out 

other quotations which pleased him, so that the sheet became 

full. . . . 

And he continued to learn the flowers collected by certain 
masters, and to reduce them into the form of one book, as he 
was then able, although mixed one with another, until it be- 
came almost as large as a psalter. This book he called his 
manual, because he carefully kept it at hand day and night, 
and found, as he told me, no small consolation therein. 

One of the greatest difficulties in historical study is 
to obtain any knowledge of how the common people 
lived. The doings of kings, nobles, and great church- 
men are more apt to be recorded than those of farmers, 
tradesmen, or laborers. A glimpse of the occupations 
and positions of such men can, however, be obtained from 
a conversation written by yElfric about a.d. 990, in Latin 
and Anglo-Saxon in parallel lines, and intended to teach 
boys the use of Latin through their mother tongue by 
means of an account of things familiar to them. 

Pupils. We beg you, O Master, to teach us to speak Latin 41. Dialogue 
correctly, for we are unlearned and speak ignorantly. Teacher, between 
What do you want to speak about ? Pupils. What do we care ^nd pupils 
what we speak about, so long as our speech is correct and use- 
ful, not foolish or improper? Teacher. Do you wish to be 
flogged as you learn? Pupils. We had rather be flogged for 
the sake of learning than remain ignorant, but we know you 
are kind and will not want to inflict blows on us unless you are 
compelled to by us. Teacher (to one of the pupils). I ask 



70 Readings in English History 

thee what thou wilt say to me ? — What kind of work hast thou ? 
Pupil. I have taken vows as a monk and sing every day with 
the brethren seven times, and I am busy with reading and sing- 
ing ; but nevertheless I would like meanwhile to learn to speak 
in the Latin tongue. Teacher. What do these thy companions 
know? Pupil. Some are plowmen, some shepherds, some ox- 
herds, some huntsmen, some fishermen, some hawkers, some 
peddlers, some shoemakers, some salt dealers, some bakers. 
The plow- Teacher. What dost thou say, plowman ? — How dost thou 

'"^'^ carry on thy work? Ploivman. O Master, I work too hard; I 

go out at early dawn driving the oxen to the field, and yoke 
them to the plow. There is no winter so bitter that I venture 
to remain at home, for fear of my lord ; then when the 
oxen are yoked and the share and colter fastened to the 
plow, through the whole day must I plow a complete acre 
or more. Teacher. Hast thou a companion? Ploivman. I 
have a certain boy who drives the oxen with a goad, and who 
is now hoarse from cold and shouting. Teacher. What else 
dost thou do in a day? Plo7vinan. Certainly I have more 
to do. I have to fill the mangers of the oxen with hay, and 
water them, and carry their dung outside. Teacher. Oh ! oh ! 
that is much labor. Plowman. Yes, the labor is great because 
I am not free. 
The shepherd Teacher. What dost thou say, shepherd ? — Hast thou any 
labor? Shepherd. Indeed, I have. In the early morning I drive 
my sheep to their pasture, and I stand over them in heat 
and cold with a dog, so that the wolves shall not devour them, 
and I bring them back to their fold, and I milk them twice a 
day, and I move their folds besides, and I make cheese and 
butter, and I am faithful to my lord. 
The oxherd Teacher. Oxherd, what dost thou do? Oxherd. O Master, 

I do much labor. When the plowman unyokes the oxen I lead 
them to the pasture, and the whole night I stand over them 
watching on account of thieves, and then at break of day I 
take them to the plowman well fed and watered. 
The teacher Teacher. Is this man one of your companions? Pupil. Yes, 

and the hunts- he is. Teacher. Dost thou know anything? I know one craft. 
What is that? I am a huntsman. Whose? The king's. How 



man converse 



Later Saxon England . ^i 

dost thou carry on thy craft? I set my nets and spread them in 
a suitable place, and I set on my dogs so .that they shall drive 
the wild animals and cause them to run unawares into the nets, 
and I strangle them in the nets. Canst thou not hunt without 
nets? Yes, I am able to hunt without nets. How? I chase wild 
animals with swift dogs. What wild animals dost thou take prin- 
cipally? I take deer and boars, and does and goats, and some- 
times hares. Hast thou been hunting to-day? I have not because 
it is Sunday, but yesterday I was hunting. What didst thou cap- 
ture? Two stags and one boar. How didst thou catch them? 
The stags I took in nets and the boar I stuck in the throat. 
How didst thou dare to stick the boar? The dogs drove him 
to me and I, standing in the way, suddenly stuck him. Thou 
wast certainly bold then. A huntsman must not be timid, for 
many kinds of wild beasts live in the woods. What dost thou 
do with what thou dost capture? I give to the king whatsoever 
I capture because I am his huntsman. What does he give 
thee? He feeds and clothes me well, and sometimes he gives 
me a horse or a bracelet that I may carry on my work more 
cheerfully. 

Teacher. What dost thou say, merchant? Merchant. I say The teacher 
that I am useful to the king, to ealdorman, to rich men, and to and the mer- 

°' chant converse 

the whole people. Why? I go aboard my vessel with my mer- 
chandise and over the seas and sell my things and buy precious 
wares which are not produced in this country, and I bring them 
hither to you with great danger over the seas ; and sometimes 
I suffer shipwreck, scarcely escaping alive after the loss of all 
my possessions. What things dost thou bring to us? Purple dye 
and silk, precious gems and gold, different colored cloths and 
paints, wine and oil, ivory and brass, copper and tin, sulphur 
and glass, and things such as these. Art thou willing to sell thy 
things here just as thou hast bought them there ? I am not will- 
ing. Of what advantage would my labor then be to me ? I want 
to sell them here more dear than I bought them there, so that I 
can make some gain to support myself, my wife, and my son. 

Teacher. Thou, shoemaker, what dost thou do in thy work The shoe- 
that is useful to us? Shoemaker. My art is indeed very use- ^^grscon- 
ful and indeed very necessary to you. How? I buy hides and verse 



72 Readings in English History 

skins and prepare them by my art and make of them leather 
goods of every kind : sandals and shoes, leggings and leather 
bags, bridles and collars, wallets and sacks ; and no one of you 
is willing to pass the winter without my art. 

Teacher. Salt dealer, of what use is thy trade to us ? Salt 
dealer. My trade is of very great use to all of you. No one of 
you takes any enjoyment in his dinner or his supper unless 
my craft is friendly with him. Teacher. How is that? Salt 
dealer. What man enjoys pleasant foods without the savor of 
salt? Who fills his cellars or storehouse without my craft? 
Behold, all your butter and cheese would spoil unless I acted 
as your guardians over them. You would not even eat your 
vegetables without me. 

The wood carver says : Which of you does not make use of 
my craft, since I construct houses and utensils and ships for 
all of you ? 

The smith replies : O wood carver, why dost thou talk that 
way when thou canst not bore a single hole without my craft? 

The good adviser says : O comrades and good workmen, let 
us give up these contentions and let there be peace and con- 
cord between us, and let each be of service to the other in his 
trade, and let us all meet at the plowman's, where we shall 
have food for ourselves and fodder for our horses ; and I give 
this advice to all workmen, that each one exercise his trade 
diligently, because he who deserts his trade will be deserted by 
his trade. Whether thou art a priest or a monk, or a layman 
or a soldier, busy thyself about it; be what thoii art, because 
it is a great loss and shame to a man not to be willing to be 
that which he is and ought to be. 

Written at almost the same time as the dialogue from 
which the above extract is taken, that is about a.d. iooo, 
is a set of rules, or statements of the duties, payments, 
and burdens of different classes of men on a manor. 
This also was written in two languages, Latin and Anglo- 
Saxon. It is usually referred to as Rectittidines Singn- 
larmn Personarum. The followinsr extract describes the 



Later Saxon England 73 

services and privileges of the gcbur, that is, of the com- 
mon peasant or small farmer, — the villein of later times. 

The peasant's services are various : in some places burden- 42. Recti- 
some, in others light or moderate. On some land he must work *sing*u-^ 
at week- work two days every week, at such work as he is re- larutn 
quired through the year, and three days for week-work, and o/ruIcs for ' 
from Candlemas to Easter three. If he do carrying he is not Various 
required to work while his horse is out. He shall pay on ^^^°'^^ 
Michaelmas day 10 d. rent and on Martinmas day 23 measures 
of barley and 2 hens ; at Easter a young sheep or 2 d., and he 
shall watch from Martinmas to Easter at his lord's fold as often 
as it is his turn. And from the time that they first plow, to 
Martinmas, he shall each week plow one acre and himself 
prepare the seed in his lord's barn. Also three acres extra 
work and two of grass. If he needs more grass, then he 
plows for it, as he is allowed. For his plowing rent he 
plows three acres and sows it from his own barn. And he pays 
his hearth-penny. Two by two feed one hound, and each 
peasant gives six loaves to the swineherd when he drives his 
herd to pasture. On that land where this custom holds it 
pertains to the peasant that he shall have given to him for his 
outfit two oxen and one cow and six sheep and seven acres 
sown on his piece of land. After that year he must perform 
all services which pertain to him. And he must have given to 
him tools for his work, and utensils for his house. Then when 
he dies his lord takes back all. 

The land law holds on some lands, but here and there, as I 
have said, it is heavier or lighter, for all land services are not 
alike. On some land the peasant must pay honey rent, on some 
meat rent, on some ale rent. Let him who holds the shire take 
care that he knows what the old land-right is and what are the 
customs of the people. 

The battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 by the 
West-Saxon king against an allied army of Danes, Scots, 
and Mercians. The following poem describing it was 
written in Anglo-Saxon and included in the Chronicle. 



74 Readings in English History 

The translation is by Tennyson. Although it does not 
follow the rhythm of the original, it gives the spirit of 
the old Anglo-Saxon poem with great success. 



43. Battle of Aethelstan, king, 

IZT" Lord among earls, 

Bracelet-bestower and 

Baron of barons, 

He with his brother, 

Edmund Etheling, 

Gaining a lifelong 

Glory in battle, 

Slew with the sword-edge 

There by Brunanburh ; 

Brake the shield-wall, 

Hewed the lindenwood. 

Hacked the battleshield, — 
Sons of Edward with hammered brands, 

II 

Theirs was a greatness 
Got from their grandsires — 
Theirs that so often in 
Strife with their enemies 
Struck for their hoards and their hearths and their homes. 

Ill 

Bowed the spoiler, 
Bent the Scotsman, 
Fell the shipcrews 
Doomed to the death. 
All the field with blood of the fighters 

Flowed, from when first the great 
Sun-star of morningtide, 
Lamp of the Lord God, 
Lord everlasting. 



Later Saxon England 75 

Glowed over earth, till the glorious creature 
Sank to his setting. 

IV 
There lay many a man 
Marred by the javelin, 
Men of the Northland 
Shot over shield. 
There was the Scotsman 
Weary of war. 

V 

We the West-Saxons, 

Long as the daylight 

Lasted, in companies 
Troubled the track of the host that we hated. 
Grimly with swords that were sharp from the grindstone, 
Fiercely we hacked at the flyers before us. 

VI 

Mighty the Mercian, 
Hard was his hand-play, 
Sparing not any of 
Those that with Anlaf, 
Warriors over the 
Weltering waters 
Borne in the bark's bosom, 
Drew to this island : 
Doomed to the death. 



XII 

Then with their nailed prows 
Parted the Norsemen, a 
Blood-reddened relic of 
Javelins, over 
The jarring breaker, the deep-sea billow, 
Shaping their way toward Dublin again, 
Shamed in their souls. 



7 6 Readings in English History 

XIII 

Also the brethren, 
Kmg and Ethehng, 
Each in his glory, 
Went to his own in his own West-Saxonland, 
Glad of the war. 

XIV 

Many a carcase they left to be carrion. 
Many a livid one, many a sallow-skin — 
Left for the white-tailed eagle to tear it, and 
Left for the horny-nibbed raven to rend it, and 
Gave to the garbaging war-hawk to gorge it, and 
That gray beast, the wolf of the weald. 

XV 

Never had huger 
Slaughter of heroes 
Slain by the sword-edge — - 
Such as old writers 
Have writ of in histories — 
Hapt in this isle, since 
Up from the East hither 
Saxon and Angle from 
Over the broad billow 
Broke into Britain with 
Haughty war-workers who 
Harried the Welshman, when 
Earls that were lured by the 
Hunger of glory gat 
Hold of the land. 

III. The Political Organization of England 

It v^ill be noticed in the extracts from the Chronicle 
that the defense against the Danes was often carried 
out by the ealdorman and men of some particular shire. 



Later Saxon England yy 

The shire was the most important subdivision of the 
kingdom. The semiannual meeting of the greater men 
of the shire in a shire court for purposes of judicial and 
other action is referred to in various sections of the laws 
and records. The following record was placed in a blank 
leaf in a Bible. 

Here is made known in this writing that a shire moot sat 44- A meet- 
at yEgelnoth's stone, in the days of King Cnut. There sat g°?^° ^^^^ 
^thelstan, bishop, and Ranig, ealdorman, and Edwin, the (ab. looo) 
ealdorman's son, and Leofwine, Wulfsige's son, and Thurkil 
White ; and Tofig Prud came there on the king's errand ; and 
Byrning, shire reeve, and yEgelweard of Frome, and Leofwine 
of Frome, and Godric of Stoke, and all the thanes in Hereford- 
shire were there. Then came traveling there to the moot 
Edwin, Eanwen's son, and there raised a claim against his own 
mother to a portion of land, namely, at Wellington and Coadley. 
Then asked the bishop who would answer for his mother. 
Then answered Thurkil White and said that he would, if he Three mes- 
knew the claim. Since he did not know the claim, they deputed ^engers sent 

/ '^ from the 

three thanes from the moot to where she was, which was at shire moot to 
Fawley. These were Leofwine of Frome, and ^gelsig the Red, the lady who 
and Winsige Scaegthman. And when they came to her they °^"^ 
asked what claim she had to the lands for which her son was 
suing. Then said she that she had no land that in any way be- 
longed to him, and was bitterly angry with her son. Then she 
called to her Leoflaed, her kinswoman, Thurkil's wife, and spoke 
to her as follows, before them all : " Here sits Leoflaed, my 
kinswoman, to whom I give not only my land, but my gold, 
and garments, and robes, and all that I own, after my day." 
And she then said to the thanes : " Do thanelike and well ; 
announce my errand to the moot before all the good men, and 
tell them to whom I have given my land and all my property ; 
and to my own son never anything, and bid them be witnesses 
of this." And they then did so, rode to the moot, and declared 
to all the good men what she had laid upon them. Then 
Thurkil White stood up in the moot and prayed all the thanes 



78 Readings in EnglisJi History 

to make a clear grant to his wife of the lands which her kins- 
woman had given her, and they did so, and Thurkil then rode 
to St. yEthelbert's monastery, with the leave and witness of all 
the folk, and caused it to be set in a Christ's book. 

More frequent meetings were held of the principal 
men of the hundred, a subdivision of the shire. In 
these hundred courts most of the judicial business of 
the people was carried on, the customary law being en- 
forced and ordeals being ordered or carried out. Courts 
or moots were also held in the boroughs. 

45. Ordinance This is the ordinance how the hundred shall be held. 

of King j_ That they meet always within four weeks : and that every 

Edgar for the j • ^ „. ^u 

hundred "^^^ ^^ justice to another. 

moot 2. That a thief shall be pursued. ... If there be imme- 

diate need, let it be made known to the hundredman, and let 
him inform the tithingman ; and let all go forth to where God 
may direct them to go : let them do justice on the thief, as it 
was formerly the enactment of Edmund. And let the money 
value be paid to him who o\ms the cattle, and the rest be 
divided into two ; half to the hundred, half to the lord, except- 
ing men ; and let the lord take possession of the men. . . . 

5. We have also ordained, if the hundred pursue a trail 
into another hundred, that notice be given to the hundred- 
man, and that he go with them. If he neglect this, let him 
pay thirty shillings to the king. . . . 

7. In the hundred, as in any other court, we ordain that 
folk-right be pronounced in every suit, and that a term be 
fixed when it shall be fulfilled. And he who shall break that 
term, unless it be by his lord's decree, let him make compen- 
sation with thirty shillings, and on the day fixed fulfill that which 
he ought to have done before. . . . 

9. Let the iron that is for the threefold ordeal weigh three 
pounds ; and for the single, one pound. . . . 

And let the hundred court be attended as it was before 
fixed ; and three times in the year let a borough court be held ; 



Later Saxon England 79 

and twice a shire court, and let there be present the bishop of Hundred, 
the shire and the ealdorman ; and there let both expound as borough, and 

„ , , , ^ , , , , shire moots 

well the law of God as the secular law. 

In the hundred and shire moots guilt or innocence, or 
the truth or falsity of a charge, when they could not be 
settled by general agreement, were usually referred to 
some form of ordeal, carried out with religious ceremonies. 

If any one shall have given pledge to undergo the ordeal of 46- Rules for 
iron . . . , let him go three days beforehand to the priest, jj-.^""^ ^* ° 
whose duty it is to bless him with the sign of the cross ; and 
let him live upon bread, water, salt, and herbs, and hear mass 
each one of the three days; and let him make his offering and 
go to the holy communion on the day when he is to be exam- 
ined by the ordeal ; and before he is examined let him swear 
that by the law of the realm he is innocent of the charge. . . . 
Concerning the ordeal we enjoin in the name of God and by 
the command of the archbishop and of all our bishops that 
no one enter the church after the fire with which the ordeal 
is to be heated has been brought in, except the priest and 
him who is to undergo judgment. And let nine feet be meas- 
ured off from the stake to the mark, by the feet of him who is to 
be tried. . . . And when the ordeal is ready let two men from 
each side go in and certify that it is as hot as we have directed 
it to be. Then let an equal number from both sides enter and 
stand on either side of the judgment place along the church, 
and let them all be fasting. . . . And let the priest sprinkle The ordeal a 
them all with holy water and let them bow themselves every '^^ 'g'o"s 

-' •' ceremony 

one to the holy water, and let the holy Gospel and the cross 
be given them all to kiss. And no one shall mend the fire any 
longer than the beginning of the hallowing, but let the iron lie 
on the coals until the last collect. Afterwards let it be placed 
on a frame, and let no one speak except to pray diligently to 
God, the Father Omnipotent, to deign to manifest his truth 
in the matter. And let the accused drink of the holy water, 
and then let the hand with which he is about to carry the iron 
be sprinkled, and so let him go. Let the nine feet that were 



^^m 80 Readings m EnglisJi History ^9 

^B' measured off be divided into three sections. In the first divi- 

^W sion let him hold his right foot close to the stake. Then let 

^H him move his right foot across the second into the third divi- 

^H sion, where he shall cast the iron in front of him and hasten to 

^^ the holy altar. Then let his hand be wrapped up, and on the 

third day let examination be made whether it is clean or foul 
' within the wrapper. And whoever shall transgress these laws, 

■ be the ordeal of no worth in his case, but let him pay the king 

a fine of twenty shillings. 

The last two selections, one from the laws of King 
Edgar, the other from those of King ^thelstan, will give 
some impression of the provisions of the Anglo-Saxon 
codes on special points. The following extracts from the 
Dooms of Alfred W\\\ give a fuller idea of their character. 
They were in many parts attempts to put moral law or 
biblical teachings into legal form ; in other parts they 
were efforts to put the familiar customary law into more 
concrete shape ; in still other parts they were similar to 
the tables of a modern accident-insurance company in 
their detailed provisions for the payment of fines and 
compensations to an injured party, in proportion to the 
extent of the injury. 

47. The I, then, Alfred, king, gathered these together, and com- 

Aifr^d "^ manded many of those to be written which our forefathers 
held, those which to me seemed good ; and many of those 
which seemed to me not good I rejected them, by the counsel 
of my witan, and in other wise commanded them to be holden ; 
for I durst not venture to set down in writing much of my 
own, for it was unknown to me what of it would please those 
who should come after us. But those things which I met with, 
either of the days of Ine my kinsman, or of Offa, king of the 
Mercians, or of Ethelbert, who first among the English race 
received baptism, those which seemed to me the rightest, 
those I have here gathered together, and rejected the others. 



Later Saxon Englatid 8 1 

I, then, Alfred, king of the West Saxons, showed these to The witan 
all my witan, and they then said that it seemed good to them jomm issuing 
for all these to be holden. 

At the first we teach that it is most needful that every man Punishment 
warily keep his oaths and his pledges. If any one be con- ^°'' P^i^ry 
strained to either of these wrongfully, either to treason against 
his lord or to any unlawful aid, then it is juster to belie than 
to fulfill. But if he pledge himself to that which is lawful to 
fulfill, and in that belie himself, let him submissively deliver 
up his weapon and his goods to the keeping of his friends, 
and be in prison forty days in a king's town : let him there 
suffer whatever the bishop may prescribe to him ; and let his 
kinsmen feed him, if he himself have no food. . . . 

If any plot against the king's life, of himself, or by harbor- 
ing exiles, or by his men, let him be liable in his life and in all 
that he has. . . . 

We also ordain to every church that has been hallowed by 
a bishop this right of peace, if a man in a feud flee to or reach 
one, that for seven days no one drag him out. . . . He who 
steals on Sunday or at Christmas or at Easter or on Holy 
Thursday or on Rogation days, for each of these we will that 
the fine be twofold, as during the Lenten fast. ... 

If any one fight in the king's hall, or draw his weapon, and 
he be taken, be it in the king's doom, either death or life, as 
he may be willing to grant him. If he escape, and be taken 
again, let him pay for himself according to the value of his 
life. . . . 

If a man strike out another's tooth in the front of his head, Compensa- 
let him make compensation for it with eight shillings ; if it be ^'^^^ for 
the eyetooth, let four shillings be paid as compensation. A 
man's grinder is worth fifteen shillings. ... 

A man's chin bone, if it be cloven, let twelve shillings be 
paid as compensation. . . . 

If a man be wounded on the shoulder so that the joint-oil 
flow out, let compensation be made with thirty shillings. 

If the arm be broken above the elbow, there shall be fifteen 
shillings as compensation. 

If the forearm be broken, the compensation is thirty shillings. 



82 Readings in English History 

If the thumb be struck off, for that shall be thirty shillings 
as compensation. 

If the nail be struck off, for that shall be five shillings as 
compensation. 

If the shooting finger be struck off, the compensation is 
fifteen shillings ; for its nail it is four shillings. 

If the middlemost finger be struck off, the compensation is 
twelve shillings ; and its nail is two shillings. . . . 

If a man's thigh be pierced, let thirty shillings be paid him 
as compensation ; if it be broken, the compensation is likewise 
thirty shillings. 

If the great toe be struck off, let thirty shillings be paid 
him as compensation ; if it be the second toe, let fifteen shil- 
lings be paid. . . . 

He who smiteth his father or his mother shall perish by 
death. 

He who stealeth a freeman and selleth him and it be proved 
against him so that he cannot clear himself, let him perish by 
death. 

If a thief break into a man's house by night and he be then 
slain, the slayer shall not be guilty of manslaughter. But if 
he do this after sunrise he shall be guilty of manslaughter, 
and then he himself shall die, unless he were an unwilling 
agent. . . . 

Swear ye never by heathen gods, nor cry ye unto them for 
any cause. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE DANISH AND THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, 975-1071 

I. The Danish Conquest 

Although the attacks of the Northmen upon England 
had lasted intermittently for nearly two hundred years, 
they were now renewed, after a half century's interval, 
with still greater violence. Under the leadership of the 
kings of Denmark the invaders were far too strong for 
the English, and the fatal policy of buying them off by 
the payment of tribute was adopted. Even this was not 
successful, and after long and destructive contests the 
English king was forced to go into exile, while the Dan- 
ish king was accepted by all the people of England, Dan- 
ish and English alike. These occurrences are well brought 
out in the entries in the Chronicle for this period. 

A.D. 991. This year was Ipswich ravaged, and after that 48. Extracts 
very shortly was Brihtnoth the ealdorman slain at Maiden, and *^°™ ^^^ 
in that year it was decreed that tribute for the first time Saxon 
should be given to the Danish men, on account of the great Chronicle 
terror which they caused on the seacoast : that was at first 
ten thousand pounds. This council was first given by Arch- 
bishop Sigeric. 

A.D. 994. In this year came Olaf and Swegen to London 
on St. Mary's day with ninety-four ships ; and then they con- 
tinued fighting stoutly against the city, and would also have set 
fire to it. . . . Then the king and his witan decreed that 
they should be sent to and promised tribute and food, on 
condition that they should cease from their plundering. -. . . 

83 



84 Readings in English History 

A.D. 1004. This year Swegen came with his fleet to Norwich 
and entirely spoiled and burned the town. Then decreed 
Ulfkytel, with the witan of East Anglia, that it were better that 
they should purchase peace of the army before they did very 
much harm to the land ; because they had come unawares, 
and" he had not time to gather his forces, . . . 

A.D. 1006. Then became the dread of the army so great 
that no men could think and discourse how they could be 
driven out of the land, or this land maintained against them ; 
for they had every shire in VVessex sadly marked by burning 
and by plundering. Then the king began earnestly with his 
witan to consider what might seem advisable to them all, so 
that this land might be saved before it was utterly destroyed. 
Then the king and his witan decreed on behalf of the whole 
nation, though it was hateful to them all, that they needs must 
pay tribute to the army. Then the king sent to the army and 
directed it to be made known to them that he would that there 
should be a truce between them. . . . 

A.D. 1007. In this year was the tribute delivered to the 
army, — thirty-six thousand pounds. 
Ethelred A.D. 1013. Then departed the king at midwinter into the 

goes into jgjg Qf Wight, and was there during that season : and after that 

exile with , , , 1 , 

Duke Richard season he went over the sea to Richard, and was there with 
of Normandy him till such time as Swegen was dead. . . . 

A.D. 1 014. In this year King Swegen ended his days, and 
all the fleet then chose Cnut for king. . . , 

A.D. 1017. In this year King Cnut obtained the whole realm 
of the English race. 

A.D. 1025. This year King Cnut went from England with 
fifty ships of English thanes to Norway and drove King Olaf 
out of the land, and possessed himself of all that land. . . . 

A.D. 1 03 1. This year King Cnut went to Rome. . . . 

The same events as have just been described in the 
extracts from the Chronicle, that is to say, the return of 
the Danes, the battle of Maldon, in which Earl Briht- 
noth was the leader, the payment of danegeld, the final 



TJie Dmiish and the Norman Conquests 85 

victory of Swegen and Cnut, and the banishment of 
Ethelred, are told in greater fullness in several other 
contemporary records, of which the account that follows 
is a good specimen. 

During his reign there came to the kingdom of the Angles 49. The 
the abominable Danes, who, devastating and burning all things, bosses of the 

' ' ^ ,, , , , • , English 

did not spare the men, but boastfully armed themselves with during 

glittering swords, with poisoned arrows, with helmets of bronze ; Etheired's 

thus they were accustomed to terrify those who saw them. A '^"^^ ^' ^, 
-' •' scribed in the 

very severe battle was fought in the west in which our men, Life of st. 
who are called Devonshire men, resisted bravely, gaining the Osivaid 
victory of a holy triumph and thus acquiring glory. Very many 
of our men fell, but rather more of theirs. One of our very 
bravest soldiers, Stremwold by name, was killed, together with 
some others who chose rather to finish life by a warlike death 
than to live ignobly. Not many months after this another great 
battle was fought, to the east of this famous region, in which 
the renowned leader Brihtnoth with his followers held the chief 
place in the fight. What man, confiding in his style, can relate 
how gloriously, how manfully, how bravely, he incited his leaders 
of war to the line of battle? He himself stood forth a noble in 
stature, towering above the rest, whose hand Aaron and Hur 
did not sustain, but great zeal for the Lord was accustomed to 
support, since he himself was worthy. He struck do\\Ti many 
to his right, forgetful of the swanlike whiteness of his hair, 
since alms and the holy mass supported him. Forgetful like- 
wise of the weakness of his body, he protected himself on the 
left, inasmuch as prayers and good deeds sustained him. When 
that splendid leader of the battle saw the enemy fleeing and 
his o\NX\ men fighting valiantly and slaying many, he began to 
fight for his country with all his courage. A great number of 
the enemy and of our men fell ; Brihtnoth was slain and the 
rest fled. So many of the Danes were wounded that they were 
scarcely able to equip their ships with men. 

By far the most of our information concerning the Dan- 
ish invasions of England comes from English writers. 



86 Readings in English History 

The following account of the conquest of England by 
Cnut comes, however, from Adam of Bremen, a Danish, 
or at least a North-German, writer of the next century. 

50. Account Swegen, king of the Danes and Norwegians, working to 
by Adam of ^yenge old injuries, as well the death of his brother as his 
own expulsion, crossed over with a great fleet into England, 
taking with him his son Cnut, and Olaf the son of Crocaben, 
of whom we have spoken above. And so after a long time 
and the fighting of many battles wdth the English, Swegen 
deposed the old king Ethelred and held the island under his 
sway ; but for a short time only, for in the third month after 
he had obtained the victory he was overtaken with death, and 
succumbed. 

Cnut, son of the king, having returned with the army to his 
native country, planned war anew against the English. Olaf, 
having been chosen to be their prince by the Norwegians, 
separated himself from the kingdom of the Danes. Then Cnut, 
troubled by this double contest, entered into a treaty with his 
half-brother Olaf, the son of Eric, who reigned in Sweden, and 
supported by the aid he gave, determined to subjugate first 
England and then Norway. So Cnut, provided with a thousand 
large vessels, crossed the Britannic Sea, through which, from 
Denmark to England, an east wind will carry vessels with their 
sails set, as the sailors. report, in three days. This great and 
dangerous sea has the Orcades on the left side, on the right 
it reaches Frisia. 

For three years Cnut attacked Britain. Ethelred, king of the 
English, besieged at London, died, leaving at the same time his 
realm and his life. This was a just judgment of God, for after 
the murder of his brother he had polluted the scepter with 
blood for thirty-eight years. Thus he expiated his parricide, 
leaving behind him a little son Edward, born from his wife 
Emma. The brother of Ethelred, Edmund, a warlike man, for 
the sake of the victor was removed by poison, and his sons 
exiled to Russia. Cnut took the kingdom of Ethelred, and his 
wife, Emma by name, who was sister of the duke of the 
Normans, Richard. 



The Danish ajid the No?-inaii Conquests 87 

Under Cnut's wise administration the country had a 
period of peace and order. The king spent part of his 
time in each of his kingdoms, and after nine years made 
a journey to Rome, as mentioned in the CJu-onicle under 
the year 103 1, whence he sent back to England the fol- 
lowing letter : 

Cnut, king of all England, and of Denmark, Norway, and 51- A letter 
part of Sweden, to Ethelnoth, metropolitan, and .4ilfric, ^^^^ ^^\l *° 
archbishop of York, and to the bishops and prelates, and to written from 
the whole nation of the English, both the nobles and the Rome 
commons, greeting : 

I notify to you that I have lately taken a journey to Rome, 
to pray for the forgiveness of my sins, and for the welfare of 
my dominions, and of the people under my rule. I had long 
since vowed this journey to God, but I have been hitherto 
prevented from accomplishing it by the affairs of my kingdom 
and other causes of impediment. I now return most humble 
thanks to God Almighty for suffering me in my lifetime to visit 
the sanctuary of his apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, and all 
others which I could find either within or without the city of 
Rome, and there in person reverentially to worship according 
to my desire. I have performed this chiefly because I have 
learnt from wise men that St. Peter, the apostle, has received 
from God great power in binding and in loosing, and carries 
the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and therefore I esteemed 
it very profitable to seek his special intercession with the Lord. 

Be it known to all of you that, at the celebration of Easter, interview 
a great assembly of nobles was present with our lord. Pope between Cnut 
John, and Conrad, the Emperor ; that is to say, all the princes Emperor 
of the nations from Mount Garganus to the neighboring sea. Conrad 
All these received me with honor and presented me with 
magnificent gifts ; but more especially was I honored by the 
Emperor with various gifts and valuable presents, both in gold 
and silver vessels, and in palls and very costly robes. I spoke 
with the Emperor himself, and the lord pope, and the princes 
who were there, in regard to the wants of my people, English 



88 



Readmgs in Efiglish History 



Rudolph of 
Aries or 
Burgundy 



Cnut's prom- 
ises of good 
government 



as well as Danes ; that there should be granted to them more 
equal justice and greater security in their journeys to Rome, 
and that they should not be hindered by so many barriers on 
the road, nor harassed by unjust tolls. 

The Emperor assented to my demands, as well as King 
Rudolph, in whose dominions these barriers chiefly stand ; and 
all the princes made edicts that my people, the merchants as 
well as those who go to pay their devotions, shall pass to and 
fro in their journeys to Rome in peace, and under the security 
of just laws, free from all molestation from the guards of bar- 
riers or the receivers of tolls. I made further complaint to my 
lord the pope and expressed my high displeasure that my arch- 
bishops are sorely aggrieved by the demand of immense sums 
of money, when, according to custom, they resort to the apos- 
tolical see to obtain the pallium ; and it is decreed that it 
should no longer be done. All things, therefore, which I re- 
quested for the good of my people from my lord the pope and 
the Emperor and King Rudolph and the other princes through 
whose territories our road to Rome lies, they have mostly freely 
granted, and even ratified their concessions by oath ; to which 
four archbishops, twenty bishops, and an innumerable multitude 
of dukes and nobles who were there present are witnesses. 
Wherefore I return most hearty thanks to Almighty God for 
my having successfully accomplished all that I had desired, as 
I had resolved in my mind, and for having satisfied my wishes 
to the fullest extent. 

Be it known, therefore, to all of you that I have humbly 
vowed to Almighty God himself henceforward to amend my 
life in all respects, and to rule the kingdoms and the people 
subject to me with justice and clemency, giving equitable 
judgments in all matters ; and if, through the intemperance of 
youth or negligence, I have hitherto exceeded the bounds of 
justice in any of my acts, I intend by God's aid to make an 
entire change for the better. 

I therefore adjure and command my counselors, to whom I 
have intrusted the affairs of my kingdom, that henceforth they 
neither themselves commit, nor suffer to prevail, any sort of 
injustice throughout my dominions, either from fear of me, or 



The Da7iish and the Norman Conquests 89 

from favor to any powerful person. I also command all sheriffs 
and magistrates throughout my whole kingdom, as they tender 
my regard and their own safety, that they use no unjust violence 
to any man, rich or poor, but that all, high or low, rich or poor, 
shall enjoy alike impartial law ; from which they are never to 
deviate, either on account of royal favor, respect of person in 
the great, or for the sake of amassing money wrongfully, for I 
have no need to accumulate wealth by iniquitous exactions. 

I wish you further to know that, returning by the way I 
went, I am now going to Denmark to conclude a treaty for a 
solid peace, all the Danes concurring, with those nations and 
peoples who would have taken my life and crown if it had been 
possible ; but this they were not able to accomplish, God bring- 
ing their strength to naught. May He, of his merciful kind- 
ness, uphold me in my sovereignty and honor, and henceforth 
scatter and bring to naught the power and might of all my 
adversaries ! When, therefore, I shall have made peace with 
the surrounding nations, and settled and reduced to order all 
my dominions in the East, so that we shall have nothing to 
fear from war or hostilities in any quarter, I propose to return 
to England as early in the summer as I shall be able to fit out 
my fleet. 

I have sent this epistle before me in order that my people 
may be gladdened at my success, because, as you yourselves 
know, I have never spared, nor will I spare, myself or my exer- 
tions, for the needful service of my whole people. I now there- 
fore command and adjure all my bishops and the governors of 
my kingdom, by the duty they owe to God and myself, to take 
care that before I come to England all dues belonging to God, 
according to the old laws, be fully discharged ; namely, plow 
alms, the tithe of animals born in the current year, and the 
pence payable to St. Peter at Rome, whether from towns or Peter's pence 
vills ; and in the middle of August the tithes of corn ; and at 
the feast of St. Martin the first fruits of grain payable to every 
one's parish church, called in English church-scot. If these 
and such dues be not paid before I come, those who make 
default will incur fines to the king according to law, which will 
be strictly enforced without mercy. Farewell, 



90 



■Readitigs in English History 



52. William 
of Malmes- 
bury de- 
scribes the 
causes of the 
Norman Con- 
quest and its 
early events 



The three 
grandchildren 
of Edmund 
Ironside 



II. The Norman Conquest 

Shortly after the Norman Conquest there grew up in 
England a class of writers who described the events of 
their own time with much fullness and interest, writing 
in Latin instead of Anglo-Saxon. One of these was 
William of Malmesbury, who gives the following account 
of the occurrences that led to the invasion of England 
by William, and of the early stages of the Conquest. 

King Edward, declining into years, as he had no children 
himself and saw the sons of Godwin growing in power, sent 
messengers asking the king of Hungary to send over Edward, 
the son of his brother Edmund, with all his family ; intend- 
ing, as he declared, that either he or his sons should suc- 
ceed to the hereditary kingdom of England, and that his 
own want of issue should be supplied by that of his kindred. 
In consequence Edward came, but died almost immediately, 
at St. Paul's, in London. He was neither valiant, nor a man 
of abilities. He left three surviving children : that is to say, 
Edgar, who after the death of Harold was by some elected 
king, and who after many revolutions of fortune is now living 
retired in the country in extreme old age ; Christina, who grew 
old at Romsey in the habit of a nun ; and Margaret, whom 
Malcolm, king of the Scots, espoused. . . . 

The king, in consequence of the death of his relation, losing 
his first hope of support, gave the succession of England to 
William, duke of Normandy. He was well worthy of such a 
gift, being a young man of superior mind, who had raised him- 
self to the highest eminence by his unwearied exertions ; more- 
over, he was his nearest relation by consanguinity, as he was 
the son of Robert, the son of Richard the Second, whom we 
have repeatedly mentioned as the brother of Emma, Edward's 
mother. Some affirm that Harold himself was sent into Nor- 
mandy for this purpose ; others, who knew Harold's more secret 
intentions, say that, being driven thither against his will by 
the violence of the wind, he imagined this device in order to 



TJie Danish and the Norman Conquests 91 

extricate himself. This, as it appears nearest the truth, I will 
relate. 

Harold, being at his country seat at Bosham, went for recre- 
ation on board a fishing boat, and for the purpose of prolong- 
ing his sport put out to sea; when, a sudden tempest arising, 
he was driven with his companions on the coast of Ponthieu. 
The people of that district, as was their native custom, imme- 
diately assembled from all quarters; and Harold's company, 
unarmed and few in numbers, were, as it easily might be, quickly 
overpowered by an armed multitude and bound hand and foot. 
Harold, craftily meditating a remedy for this mischance, sent a 
person, whom he had allured by very great promises, to William 
to say that Harold had been sent into Normandy by the king 
for the purpose of expressly confirming in person the mes- 
sage which had been imperfectly delivered by people of less 
authority, but that he was detained in fetters by Guy, count 
of Ponthieu, and could not execute his embassy ; that it was 
the barbarous and inveterate custom of the country that such 
as had escaped destruction at sea should meet with perils on 
shore ; that it well became a man of William's dignity not to 
let this pass unpunished. If he should suffer those who ap- 
pealed to his protection to be laden with chains, it would de- 
tract somewhat from his own greatness : and if his captivity 
must be terminated by money, he would gladly give it to Duke 
William, but not to the contemptible Guy. By these means Visit of 
Harold was liberated at William's command, and conducted to Harold to 

Duke 

Normandy by Guy in person. The duke entertained him with wiliiam 
much respect, both in banqueting and vesture, according to the 
custom of his country. . . . 

When King Edward had yielded to fate, England, fluctuat- 
ing with doubtful favor, was uncertain to which ruler she should 
commit herself, — to Harold, William, or Edgar; for the king 
had recommended him also to the nobility, as nearest to the 
sovereign in point of birth, concealing his better judgment 
because of the tenderness of his disposition. Wherefore, as I 
have said above, the English were distracted in their choice, 
although all of them openly wished well to Harold. He, indeed, 
once exalted by the diadem, thought nothing of the covenant 



92 Readings in English History 

between himself and William, asserting that he was absolved 
from his oath because William's daughter, to whom he had been, 
betrothed, had died before she was marriageable. For this 
man, though possessing numberless good qualities, is reported 
to have been careless about abstaining from perjury provided he 
could by any tricks elude the reasonings of men. Moreover, 
supposing that the threats of William would never be put into 
execution, because he was occupied in wars with neighboring 
princes, he, along with his subjects, had felt too much security. 
Except for the fact that he had learned that the king of 
Norway was approaching, he would neither have condescended 
to collect troops nor to array them. William in the mean- 
time began mildly to address him by messengers, to expostu- 
late on the broken covenant, to mingle threats with entreaties, 
to warn him that ere a year expired he would claim his due 
by the sword, and that he would come to that place where 
Harold supposed he himself had the firmer footing. Harold 
again rejoined what I have related concerning the nuptials of 
his daughter, and added that he had been precipitate on the 
subject of the kingdom in having confirmed to him by oath 
another's right without the universal consent and edict of the 
general meeting and of the people ; again, that a rash oath 
ought to be broken. . . . 

At that time the prudence of William, seconded by the 
providence of God, already looked to England with hope, and 
that no rashness might stain the just cause he sent to the pope, 
— formerly Anselm, bishop of Lucca, who had assumed the 
name of Alexander, — alleging the justice of the war which he 
had undertaken with all the eloquence that he could. 
William's Harold omitted to do this, either because he was confident 
standard ^y nature, or else distrusted his cause, or because he feared 
the pope that his messengers would be obstructed by William and 
his partisans, who beset every port. The pope, duly examin- 
ing the pretensions of both parties, delivered a standard to 
William as an auspicious presage of the kingdom ; on receiv- 
ing which, the latter summoned an assembly of his nobles at 
Lillebourne for the purpose of ascertaining their sentiments 
on this undertaking. And when he had confirmed by splendid 



The Danish and the Airman Conquests 93 

promises all who approved his design, he ordered all to prepare 
supplies of ships in proportion to the extent of their posses- 
sions. Thus they departed at that time, and in the month of 
August reassembled in a body at St. Val^ry, — for so that port 
is called by its new name. Collecting therefore ships from 
every quarter, they awaited the propitious gale which was to 
carry them to their destination. When this delayed blowing 
for several days, the common soldiers, as is generally the case, 
began to mutter in their tents that the man must be mad who 
wishes to subjugate a foreign country ; that God was oppos- 
ing them by withholding the wind ; that William's father had 
planned a similar attempt, which was in like manner frustrated; 
that it was the fate of that family to aspire to things beyond 
their reach, and find God for their adversary. In consequence 
of these things, which were enough to enervate the force of the 
brave, being publicly noised abroad, the duke held a council 
with his chiefs and ordered the body of St.Val^ry to be brought 
forth and exposed to the open air for the purpose of imploring 
a wind. No delay now interposed, but the wished-for gale filled 
their sails. A joyful clamor then arising, summoned every one 
to the ships. The duke himself, first launching from the conti- 
nent into the deep, awaited the rest at anchor, nearly in mid- 
channel. All then assembled around the crimson sails of the 
admiral's ship, and having first dined, they arrived after a fav- 
orable passage at Hastings. As the duke disembarked he slipped 
down, but turned the accident to his advantage, a soldier who 
stood near calling out to him, " You hold England, my lord, its 
future king." He then restrained his whole army from plunder- 
ing, warning them that they should now abstain from what must 
hereafter be their own ; and for fifteen successive days he re- 
mained so perfectly quiet that he seemed to think of nothing 
less than of war. 

In the meantime Harold returned from the battle with the The battle 
Norwegians, happy, in his own estimation, at having con- °^ Stamford 
quered, but not so in mine, as he had secured the victory by 
fratricide. When the news of the arrival of the Normans 
reached him, reeking as he was from battle, he proceeded to 
Hastings, though accompanied by very small forces. . . . 



94 Readings in English History 

The courageous leaders mutually prepared for battle, each 
according to his national custom. The English, as we have 
heard, passed the night without sleep, in drinking and sing- 
ing, and in the morning proceeded without delay towards the 
enemy. All were on foot, armed with battle-axes. Covering 
themselves in front by the junction of their shields, they 
formed an impenetrable body which would have secured their 
safety that day had not the Normans by a feigned flight in- 
duced them to open their ranks, which till that time, accord- 
ing to their custom, were closely compacted. The king himself, 
on foot, stood with his brother near the standard, in order that, 
while all shared equal danger, none might think of retreating. 
This standard William sent after the victory to the pope. It 
was sumptuously embroidered of gold and precious stones, in 
the form of a man fighting. 

On the other hand, the Normans passed the whole night in 
confessing their sins, and received the sacrament in the morn- 
ing. Their infantry, with bows and arrows, formed the vanguard, 
while their cavalry, divided into wings, were thrown back. The 
duke with serene countenance, declaring aloud that God would 
favor his as being the righteous side, called for his arms ; and 
presently, when through the hurry of his attendants he had put 
on his hauberk the hindpart before, he corrected the mistake 
with a laugh, saying, " My dukedom shall be turned into a king- 
dom." Then, beginning the song of Roland, that the warlike 
example of that man might stimulate the soldiers, and calling 
on God for assistance, the battle commenced on both sides. 
The battle of They fought with ardor, neither giving ground for great 
Hastings or p^^^.^ q£ ^^ ^^^ ^ Finding this, William gave a signal to his 
party that by a feigned flight they should retreat. Through 
this device the close body of the English, opening for the 
purpose of cutting down the straggling enemy, brought upon 
itself swift destruction ; for the Normans, facing about, at- 
tacked them thus disordered, and compelled them to flee. Ln 
this manner, deceived by a stratagem, they met an honorable 
death in avenging their country. Nor were they at all wanting 
to their own revenge, as by frequently making a stand they 
slaughtered their pursuers in heaps ; for, getting possession of 



The Danish and the Norman Conquests 95 

an eminence, they drove down the Normans, when roused 
with indignation and anxiously striving to gain the higher 
ground, into the valley beneath, where, easily hurling their 
javelins and rolling down stones on them as they stood below, 
they destroyed them to a man. Besides, by a short passage 
with which they were acquainted, avoiding a deep ditch, they 
trod under foot such a multitude of their enemies in that 
place that they made the hollow level with the plain by the 
heaps of carcasses. This vicissitude of first one party conquer- 
ing and then the other prevailed as long as the life of Harold 
continued ; but when he fell, from having his brain pierced 
with an arrow, the flight of the English ceased not until night. 

Alongside of this account of the first stage of the Con- 
cjuest, given by an Englishman of the next generation, 
may be placed two other narratives of the same series of 
events, written by Normans who remained in Normandy. 
The first is a prose translation of part of an Old French 
poem, the Roman de Ron. 

The duke rejoiced greatly at receiving the banner and the 53. Wace 
license which the pope gave him. He got together carpenters, ^^*"'"' ^^ 
smiths, and other workmen, so that great stir was seen at all 
the ports of Normandy, in the collecting of wood and mate- 
rials, cutting of planks, framing of ships and boats, stretching 
sails, and rearing masts with great pains and at great cost. 
They spent all one summer and autumn in fitting up the fleet 
and collecting the forces ; and there was no knight in the land, 
no good sergeant, archer, nor peasant of stout heart and of age 
for battle, that the duke did not summon to go with him to Eng- 
land, promising rents to the vassals, and honors to the barons. 

When the ships were ready they were moored in the Somme 
at St. Val^ry, and there delivered to the barons. Many were 
the ships and boats in the river there, which is called the 
Somme, which separates Ponthieu and Vimou. Vimou extends 
as far as the Eu, which separates Normandy from Vimou, a 
country under different government. Eu is a river and Eu is 
also a fair castle situated upon that river. 



96 Readings in English History 

List of some The duke had men from many and various parts. Haimon, 
of William's ^j^g viscount of Toarz, came thither, a man of very great power, 
who could bring much people. Alain Felgan also came to the 
crossing, and brought with him great baronage from among 
the Bretons ; and Fitz Bertran de Peleit and the Sire de Di- 
nan came also ; and Raoul de Gael, and many Bretons from 
many castles, and from about Brecheliant, concerning which 
the Bretons tell many fables. It is a forest long and broad, 
much famed throughout Brittany. The spring of Berenton 
rises from beneath a stone there. Thither the hunters are used 
to repair in sultry weather ; and drawing up water with their 
horns, they sprinkle the stone for the purpose of having rain, 
which is then wont to fall, they say, throughout the whole 
forest round ; but why I know not. There, too, fairies are to 
be seen (if the Bretons tell truth) and many other wonders 
happen. The background is broken and precipitous, and deer 
in plenty roam there, but the husbandmen have deserted it. 
I went thither on purpose to see these marvels, but I found 
none. I went like a fool, and so I came back; I sought after 
folly and hold myself a fool for my pains. 

The fame of the Norman duke soon went forth through 
many lands, — how he meant to cross the sea against Harold, 
who had taken England from him. Then soldiers came flock- 
ing to him, one by one, two by two, four by four, by fives and 
sixes, sevens and eights, nines and tens ; and he retained them 
all, giving them much and promising more. Many came by 
agreement made by them beforehand ; many bargained for 
lands, if they should win England ; some required pay, allow- 
ances, and gifts ; and the duke was often obliged to give at once 
to those who could not wait the result. 

I shall never put in writing, and would not undertake to set 
down, what barons and how many knights, how many vavassors, 
and how many soldiers the duke had in his company when 
he had collected all his navy ; but I heard my father say — I 
remember it well, although I was but a lad — that there were 
seven hundred ships, less four, when they sailed from St. 
Val^ry ; and that, besides these ships, there were boats and 
skiffs for the purpose of carrying the arms and harness. I 



* TJie Datiish and the Norman Conquests 97 

have found it written (although I know not whether it be true) 
that there were in all three thousand vessels bearing sails and 
masts. Any one will know that there must have been a great 
many men to have furnished out so many vessels. 

The ships steered to one port ; all arrived and reached the The landing 
shore together ; together cast anchor, and ran on dry land ; ^* Pevensey 
and together they discharged themselves. They arrived near 
Hastings, and there each ship ranged by the other's side. 
There you might see the good sailors, the sergeants and squires, 
sally forth to unload the ships, — cast the anchors, haul the 
ropes, bear out the shields and saddles, and land the war horses 
and palfreys. The archers came forth and touched land the 
foremost, each with his bow bent, and his quiver full of arrows 
slung at his side. All were shaven and shorn, and all were clad 
in short garments, ready to attack, to shoot, to wheel about, 
and skirmish. All stood well equipped and of good courage for 
the fight ; and they scoured the whole shore, but found not an 
armed man there. After the archers had thus gone forth, the 
knights landed next, all armed with their hauberks on, their 
shields slung at their necks, and their helmets laced. They 
formed together on the shore, each armed upon his war horse. 
All had their swords girded on, and passed into the plain with 
their lances raised. 

The barons had banners, and the knights pennons. They 
occupied the advanced ground, next to where the archers had 
fixed themselves. The carpenters, who came after, had great 
axes in their hands, and planes and adzes hung at their sides. 
When they had reached the spot where the archers stood and 
the knights were assembled, they consulted together, and 
sought for a good place to build a strong fort. Then they 
cast out of the ships the materials and drew them to land, all 
shaped, framed, and pierced to receive the pins, which they had 
brought cut and ready in large barrels ; so that, before evening 
had well set in, they had finished a fort. Then you might see 
them make their kitchens, light their fires, and cook their meat. 
The duke sat down to eat, and the barons and knights had food 
in plenty ; for he had brought ample store. All ate and drank 
enough, and were right glad that they were ashore. 



9^ Readings in English History 

This account is from a rather confused and preten- 
tious Latin chronicle, — that of William, bishop of Poitou, 
— which is nevertheless of interest as giving a very full 
account of the battle of Hastings by one who seems, to 
have been an eyewitness. 

54. Account The duke advanced in most excellent order, with the stand- 
°**.^.^^*^^® ard which the pope had sent over leading the way. In the 
of Poitou front row he placed foot soldiers armed with arrows and missiles 
for hurling, and in the second line likewise foot soldiers, who 
were stronger and clad in coat of mail ; on the last line he 
placed the squads of cavalry, in the midst of which he him- 
self took his stand firmly, from which spot he would issue his 
directions to all parts by gesture and by spoken word. Some 
one of the old writers, in speaking of that line of Harold, said 
that on his march the rivers were drunk dry, and the forests 
reduced to plains ; for a vast number of English forces had 
collected from those regions on all sides. A part showed their 
zeal for Harold, all for their country, which they wished to 
defend against foreigners, even though unjustly. The country 
of the Danes, which was related to them, had also sent many 
auxiliaries. Nevertheless, not daring to engage with William 
on the plain, and fearing him more than the king of the Nor- 
wegians, they seized a higher position, which was a mountain 
next to a forest through which they had come. Abandoning 
any aid from the horses, all the foot soldiers crowded together 
in closely packed ranks. The leader with his men, undaunted 
by the roughness of the place and by the steepness of the 
ascent, climbed slowly up. A starding bkrst of the trumpets 
gave the signal for the battle, and on each side the ready 
courage of the Normans began the fight, just as when a speaker 
in a court is pleading a case of robbery, in advance he strikes 
with his speech the one who is bringing the charge. 

Then the Norman foot soldiers, approaching nearer, provoke 
the English, aiming to wound and kill them with their missiles. 
They, on the other hand, resist bravely by whatever devices 
they can. They hurl spears and weapons of all sorts, as well as 



Tlie Danish and the A^onnan Conquests 99 

the pitiless axes, together with stones placed on logs. One 
might think that our men would be buried by these as by a 
death-bringing mound. The horsemen bring aid and those who 
are behind come up to the front. It becomes a shame to fight 
from afar, and they dare to carry on the battle with swords. 
On one side the Normans arise, on the other the barbarian is 
overcome by the sound of arms and the groans of the dying. 
Thus for some time the struggle continues on both sides with 
the greatest violence. The English were aided greatly by the The English 
advantage of a higher situation, which they held without ad- o" the hill of 
vancing, and were very closely crowded together ; they were 
also aided by their great number and size ; as well, too, by the 
implements of warfare which easily found their way through 
the shield or other protection. So they bravely sustained and 
even drove back those who dared to make an attack upon them 
with drawn swords ; and they wounded those who were throw- 
ing weapons upon them from afar off. The British foot soldiers 
as well as the horsemen, terrified by this cruelty, turned aside, as 
did all the auxiliaries which were on the left wing ; almost the 
entire line of the duke retreated, although it has been said of 
the Normans that they are one of the most invincible nations. 
This army of Roman majesty standing against forces of kings, 
accustomed to conquer on land and sea, at length fled when 
it learned or believed that its leader had been slain. For the 
Normans believed that their lord and duke had been killed, 
and withdrew in a flight of which they ought not to be too 
much ashamed ; least of all ought it to be grieved over since it 
aided much. The duke, seeing that a great part of the guard 
opposite had leaped forth and were pressing on the backs of 
his men, rushed up to those who were fleeing and placed him- 
self in their path, at the same time reproving and threatening 
them with his sword. Tearing off his helmet, with head bare, he 
cried out : " Look at me. I live, and shall with God's aid con- 
quer. What madness is driving you to flight ? What road will 
be open to flee? Those whom you are able to punish as cattle 
are driving and killing you. You are deserting victory and 
everlasting honor ; you are hastening to destruction and eternal 
disgrace. No one of you will escape death by going now." At 



lOO Readings in English History 

these words they recovered their courage. He himself rushed 
forward, striking terror with his sword, and killing the people 
opposite, who deserved death inasmuch as they were rebelling 
against their king. The Normans fiercely surrounded several 
thousands who had followed them, and quickly destroyed them, 
so that not even one survived. So encouraged, they attacked 
the whole army ; although this had suffered great loss, yet it 
did not seem much smaller. The English confidently attacked 
with their entire force, laboring especially for this, namely, 
that they should allow no open approach to those wishing to 
break through. Nevertheless openings were soon cut with the 
sword through the different companies of the bravest soldiers. 
Through these pressed in the Cenomani, French, Bretons, 
Aquitanians, but with especial bravery the Normans. 

A certain Norman soldier, Robert, son of Roger of Belle- 
monte, nephew and heir of Hugo, count of Mellento, through 
his sister Adeline, on that day first engaged in a battle which 
made his praise everlasting ; with the legion of which he was 
in command in the right wing, he rushed forward and overcame 
many with great boldness. It is not in our ability nor does 
our intention permit us to mention the brave deeds of separate 
individuals in accordance with their merit. Even a man who 
had seen that contest with his own eyes would need to use all 
his powers of speech to describe what was done. 

But we hasten on in order that, after finishing the praise of 
William the duke, we may write the glory of William the king. 
Pretended The Normans and their allies noticed that the enemy, who 
flight of the resisted bravely, could not be overcome without great loss to 
themselves, so they turned their backs and pretended flight. 
They recalled what desirable results flight had produced a 
little while before. The greatest joy, together with a hope of 
victory, was inspired in the barbarians. Encouraging themselves 
with an exultant cry, they heaped curses upon our men, and 
threatened that they would kill all. As before, several thousands 
with flying steps dared to press upon those whom they thought 
fleeing. The Normans suddenly turned their horses, killing on 
all sides those whom they intercepted and surrounded, sparing 
no one. Twice they used the same strategy, with the same 



The Danish and the Nortnan Conquests loi 

result ; with greater zeal they attacked the rest ; it was still a 

difficult feat to surround the line of battle which up to that 

time had been impregnable. An unusual sort of battle then . 

took place, as one part surged back and forth, while the other 

stood as if rooted to the ground. The English were tired out, Defeat of the 

and acknowledging defeat by this very failure, they suffered the English 

penalty. The Normans discharged their arrows, struck them 

down, and ran them through ; the dead, while falling, rather 

than the living, seemed to be moved. There was no chance 

for those slightly wounded to fall, but the vast number of the 

soldiers, crowding together, killed them by crushing them. So 

good fortune ran to meet William by hastening his triumph. 

An idea of the extent to which the conquest was 
effected by the mere ravaging of the country is obtained 
from the following account, written by a monk connected 
with the abbey of Durham and therefore familiar with 
the devastation of the North. 

The Normans had devastated Northumbria and certain 55. From 
other counties of England in the preceding year ; during this Symeon of 
and the following year through almost all England, especially /^^g ^ 
Northumbria and the counties lying near it, so great a famine 
arose that, since necessity forced them, they ate the flesh of 
human beings, horses, dogs, and cats, and whatever usage 
shrinks from ; so severe was it that some sold themselves into 
perpetual slavery, provided only they might in any way sustain 
their wretched lives ; others started to go into exile, but falling 
on the journey lost their lives. It was horrible to see the dead 
bodies decaying in the houses, in the open spaces, and on the 
streets. The mass decaying with horrible stench, swarmed with 
worms. Nor was any one left to bury the dead, for all were 
wiped out either by sword or famine, or had departed from 
their homes on account of hunger. In the meantime the land 
was destitute of cultivators, and a broad wilderness existed for 
nine years. Between York and Durham nowhere was there an 
inhabited village, while the dens of wild beasts and robbers 
caused terror to travelers. 



CHAPTER VII 

ENGLAND UNDER THE NORMANS, 1066-1154 

I. Immediate Results of the Conquest 

William of Malmesbury, who wrote scarcely fifty years 
after the Norman Conquest,, already recognizes some of its 
most important effects, — the union of the English and the 
Normans by intermarriage, the introduction of Norman 
architecture, and the general revival of the national life. 

56. The Nor- The Normans, that I may speak of them also, were at that 
man race time, and are even now, proudly appareled, delicate in their 
food, but not excessive. They are a race inured to war, and 
can hardly live without it ; fierce in rushing against the enemy ; 
and where strength fails of success, ready to use stratagem, 
to corrupt by bribery. As I have related, they live in large 
edifices with economy ; envy their equals, wish to excel their 
superiors ; and plunder their subjects, though they defend them 
from others. They are faithful to their lords, though a slight 
offense renders them perfidious. They weigh treachery by its 
chance of success, and change their sentiments with money. 
They are, however, the kindest of nations, and they esteem 
strangers worthy of equal honor with themselves. They also 
intermarry with their vassals. They revived, by their arrival, 
the observances of religion, which were everywhere grown life- 
less in England. You might see churches rise in every village, 
and monasteries in the towns and cities, built after a style un- 
known before ; you might behold the country flourishing with 
renovated rites. 

The chronicles of the time constantly refer to the 
liberal gifts of land which William made to his followers. 



England iindcr the Normans 103 

as fast as the Saxon nobles were removed, or their lands 
confiscated for rebellion or other offenses. Orderic Vitalis, 
from whom this selection is taken, is one of the literary- 
historians of the period. He continued to live in Nor- 
mandy, however, at the abbey of Eu, and wrote a history 
of England and Normandy during the eleventh century. 

The two great earls of the Mercians having been gotten rid 57. Distribu- 
of, Edwin by death and Morcar by strict confinement, King ^^^\^l '^"^^ 
William distributed their vast domains in the richest districts conquerors 
of England among his adherents, raising the lowest of his 
Norman followers to wealth and power. He granted the Isle 
of Wight and the comity of Hereford to William Fitz-Osbern, 
high steward of Normandy, giving him the charge, in con- 
junction with Walter de Lacy and other tried soldiers, of de- 
fending the frontier against the Welsh, who were breathing 
defiance. . . . 

King William gave first to Roger de Montgomery the 
castle of Arundel and the city of Chichester, and afterwards 
the earldom of Shrewsbury, which town is situated on a hill 
by the river Severn. This earl was wise, moderate, and a lover 
of justice ; and cherished the gentle society of intelligent and 
unassuming men. For a long time he had about him three 
well-informed clerks, Godebald, Odelirus, and Herbert, whose 
advice he followed with great advantage. He gave his niece 
Emerie and the command of Shrewsbury to Warin the Bald, a 
man of small stature but great courage, who bravely encoun- 
tered the earl's enemies and maintained tranquillity throughout 
the district intrusted to his government. Roger de Montgomery 
also gave commands in his earldom to William, surnamed Pan- 
toul, Picot de Say, and Corbet, with his sons Roger and Rob- 
ert, as well as other brave and faithful knights, supported by 
whose wisdom and courage he ranked among the greatest nobles. 

King William conferred the earldom of Northampton on 
Waltheof, son of Earl Siward, the most powerful of the English 
nobility, and, in order to cement a firm alliance with him, gave 
him in marriage his niece Judith, who bore him two beautiful 



I04 Readings in English History 

daughters. The earldom of Buckingham was given to Walter 
Giffard, and Surrey to WilHam de Warrenne, who married 
Gundred, Gherbod's sister. King William granted the earl- 
dom of Holdernesse to Eudes of Champagne, nephew of Count 
Theobald, who married the king's sister, that is, Duke Robert's 
daughter ; and the earldom of Norwich to Ralph de Guader, 
son-in-law of William Fitz-Osbern. To Hugh Grantmesnil he 
granted the town of Leicester, and distributed cities and counties 
among other lords, with great honors and domains. The castle 
of Tutbury, which Hugh d'Avranches before held, he granted 
to Henry, son of Walkelin de Ferrers, conferring on other for- 
eigners who had attached themselves to his fortunes such vast 
possessions that they had in England many vassals more rich 
and powerful than their own fathers were in Normandy. 

Geoffrey, bishop of Coutances, of an ancient Norman family, 
who rendered essential services and support at the battle of 
Senlac, and was commander of troops in other conflicts, in 
which natives and foreigners crushed each other, received for 
his share, by grant from King William, two hundred and eighty 
vills, which are commonly called manors, which at his death 
he left to his nephew de Mowbray, who speedily lost them by 
his rashness and misconduct. 

Likewise Eustace de Boulogne and Robert Mortain, Will- 
iam d'Evreux, Robert d'Eu, Geoffrey son of Rotrou de Mor- 
tagne, and other counts and lords more than I can enumerate, 
received from King William great revenues and honors in 
England. Thus strangers were enriched with English wealth, 
while her sons were iniquitously slain or driven into hopeless 
exile in foreign lands. 

At some time during his reign, it is not known exactly 
when, William issued the following edict. By it the new 
method of trial, wager of battle, previously well known 
in Normandy but not used in England, was made legal ; 
but at the same time trial by compurgation and by ordeal 
are both recognized. Englishmen are put on the same 
level as Normans ; indeed, in this particular instance, ap- 
parently in a superior position. 



England under the No7'nians 105 

William by the grace of God king of the English, to all to 58. Edict of 
whom this writing shall come greeting and friendship. We order William con- 
and require this to be kept by the whole nation of England. wager of 

If an Englishman shall summon any Frenchman to battle battle 
for a theft or a homicide or any other matter for which battle 
ought to be waged or a plea made between the two men, he 
shall have full liberty to do this. And if the Englishman does 
not wish a battle, the Frenchman who is accused may defend 
himself by an oath against him, by his witnesses, according to 
the law of Normandy. 

Likewise if a Frenchman shall summon an Englishman to 
battle concerning the same matters, the Englishman may with 
full hberty defend himself by battle, or by compurgation if that 
pleases him better. And if he is sickly and does not wish a 
battle, or is not competent, let him seek for himself a legal 
defender. If the Frenchman shall have been conquered, let 
him pay sixty shillings to the king. And if the Englishman 
does not wish to defend himself by battle, or by testimony, 
let him defend himself by the judgment of God. 

William seems to have made a serious effort to pre- 
serve the old customs of the land. He took the usual 
oath of the English kings, gave a charter of liberties 
to London, and to many abbeys and other churches 
guaranteed their old rights, as indicated in the three 
following documents. 

He swore before the altar of St. Peter the Apostle, in the 59. Corona- 
presence of the clergy and people, to defend the holy churches ^^ ?^*^ °* 
of God and their governors, and also to rule over the whole 
people subject to him justly and with royal providence ; to 
enact and to preserve right law, and straitly to forbid violence 
and unjust judgments. 

William the king friendly salutes William the bishop and 60. William's 
Godfrey the portreeve, and all the burgesses within London, ^^^^^0^ *° 
both French and English. And I declare that I grant you to 
be all law-worthy, as you were in the days of King Edward ; 
and I grant that every child shall be his father's heir, after his 



io6 



Readings ?';/ English History 



father's days, and I will not suffer any person to do you wrong. 
God keep you. 
6i. Charter William, king of the English, to Lanfranc, archbishop, and 

of William to Robert de Oyley, and Roger de Pister, and all others his faith- 
Abingdon ^^^'^ subjects of the whole realm of England, greeting. 

Know that I have granted to St. Mary of Abingdon, and 
Athelelm, abbot of that place, all the customs of their lands 
which belong to the aforesaid church, wherever they have 
them, in the borough or outside of the borough, according as 
Abbot Athelelm is able to show by charter or brief that the 
church of St. Mary of Abingdon and his predecessors had these 
customs by the gift of King Edward. 

The cruelty and impiety attributed to William by his 
contemporaries in the devastations that produced the 
New Forest, brought down upon him, in their belief, a 
judgment from heaven. Two of his sons, and his grand- 
son Richard, the young prince referred to in the follow- 
ing passage from Orderic Vitalis, were killed within its 
boundaries. 

Learn now, my reader, why the forest in which the young 
prince was slain secured the name of the New Forest. That 
part of the country was extremely populous from early times 
and full of well-inhabited hamlets and farms. A numerous 
population cultivated Hampshire with unceasing industry, so 
that the southern part of the district plentifully supplied Win- 
chester with the products of the land. When William the First 
ascended the throne of Albion, being a great lover of forests, 
he laid waste more than sixty parishes, compelling the inhab- 
itants to emigrate to other places, and substituted beasts of the 
chase for human beings, that he might satisfy his ardor for 
hunting. Two of his sons, Richard and William Rufus, as well 
as his grandson Richard, of whom we have lately spoken, per- 
ished in this forest, and apparitions of various kinds were 
seen there, to the great alarm of some persons ; and in this 
way the Lord manifested his displeasure that consecrated 
churches had been ruined to make a shelter for wild beasts. 



62. Orderic's 
account of 
the New 
Forest 



England ?inder the Normans 107 

The old Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, from which so many 
extracts have been taken, was still kept up at two or 
three monasteries. It is interesting to see how the Con- 
queror was looked upon by one of the continuators of 
this chronicle who had himself often seen him. 

If any would know what manner of man King William was, 63. Adescrip- 
the glory that he obtained, and of how many lands he was tio>i of Will- 
lord, then will we describe him as we have known him, — we, Angio- 
who have looked upon him, and who once lived in his court. Sajxon 

'■ Cnrontcle 

This King William, of whom we are speaking, was a very 
wise and a great man, and more honored and more powerful 
than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good men 
who loved God, but severe beyond measure towards those 
who withstood his will. He founded a noble monastery on the Battle Abbey 
spot where God permitted him to conquer England, and he 
established monks in it, and he made it very rich. In his days 
the great monastery at Canterbury was built, arid many others 
also throughout England. Moreover, this land was filled with 
monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict ; and such was 
the state of religion in his days that all that would might ob- 
serve that which was prescribed by their respective orders. 

King William was also held in much reverence. He wore Three meet- 
his crown three times every year when he was in England : at '"^^ ° J'^*^ 
Easter he wore it at Winchester, at Pentecost at Westminster, 
and at Christmas at Gloucester. And at these times all the 
men of England were with him, archbishops, bishops, abbots, 
and earls, thanes, and knights. So also was he a very stern 
and a wrathful man, so that none durst do anything against his 
will, and he kept in prison those earls who acted against his 
pleasure. He removed bishops from their sees and abbots 
from their offices, and he imprisoned thanes, and at length he 
spared not his own brother Odo. This Odo was a very power- 
ful bishop in Normandy; his see was that of Bayeux, and he 
was foremost to serve the king. He had an earldom in Eng- 
land, and when William was in Normandy he was the first man 
in this country, and him did he cast into prison. 



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Readings /« English History 



Good order 
and the 
Domesday 
Survey 



The forest 
laws 



Amongst other things the good order that William estab- 
lished is not to be forgotten ; it was such that any man, who 
was himself aught, might travel over the kingdom with a bosom- 
ful of gold, unmolested ; and no man durst kill another, how- 
ever great the injury he might have received from him. He 
reigned over England, and, being sharp-sighted to his own 
interest, he surveyed the kingdom so thoroughly that there 
was not a single hide of land throughout the whole, of which 
he knew not the possessor, and how much it was worth, and 
this he afterwards entered in his register. The land of the 
Welsh was under his sway, and he built castles therein ; more- 
over he had full dominion over the Isle of Man ; Scotland also 
was subject to him, from his great strength ; the land of Nor- 
mandy was his inheritance, and he possessed the earldom of 
Maine ; and had he lived two years longer he would have sub- 
dued Ireland by his prowess, and that without a battle. 

Truly there was much trouble in these times, and very great 
distress ; he caused castles to be built, and oppressed the poor. 
The king also was of great sternness, and he took from his sub- 
jects many marks of gold and many hundred pounds of silver, 
and this either with or without right, and with little need. He 
was given to avarice and greedily loved gain. He made large 
forests for the deer and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever 
killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing 
the deer, so also the boars ; and he loved the tall stags as if he 
were their father. He also appointed concerning the hares, 
that they should go free. The rich complained and the poor 
murmured, but he was so sturdy that he recked naught of them ; 
they must will all that the king willed, if they would live, or 
would keep their lands, or would hold their possessions, or 
would be maintained in their rights. . . . 

He left three sons : Robert, the eldest, was duke of Nor- 
mandy after him ; the second, named William, wore the crown 
of England after his father's death ; and his third son was 
Henry, to whom he bequeathed immense treasures. 



England under the Normans 109 



II. William and the Church 

It is not known exactly at what date or under what 
circumstances the following royal edict was drawn up, 
but it was a most important step in the creation of the 
new group of church courts under the bishops. Previ- 
ously the church courts had only disciplined churchmen 
and laid penance on laymen ; now they decided many 
cases affecting both classes. 

William, by the grace of God king of the English, to 64. Edict for 
R. Bainard and G. de Magneville and P. de Valoines and all strength- 
my liege men of Essex, Hertfordshire, and Middlesex, greeting, church 
Know ye, and all my liege men resident in England, that I have courts 
by my common council and by the advice of the archbishops, 
bishops, abbots, and chief men of my realm, determined that 
the episcopal laws be amended, since they have not been kept 
properly nor according to the decrees of the sacred canons 
throughout the realm of England, even to my own times. 
Accordingly I command and charge you by royal authority Matters 
that no bishop nor archdeacon do hereafter hold pleas con- concerning the 
cerning the episcopal laws in the hundred, nor bring to the tried not in 
judgment of secular men a cause which concerns the rule of the hundred 
souls. But whoever shall be impleaded for any cause or crime w "^'^'tu"* 
by the episcopal laws, let him come to the place w^hich the bishops 
bishop shall choose and name for the purpose, and there an- 
swer for his cause or crime, and not according to the hundred, 
but according to the canons and episcopal laws ; and let him 
do right to God and his bishop. 

But if any one, being lifted up with pride, refuse to come 
to the bishop's court, let him be summoned a first, second, and 
third time ; if he does not then come to the judgment, let him 
be excommunicated ; and if there is need of carrying this out, 
let the strength and justice of the king or of the sheriff be 
brought to bear. He who, summoned to the judgment of 
the bishop, refuses to come, shall answer to the bishop's law 
for each summons. This also I forbid and by my authority 



1 1 Readings in English History 

prohibit, that any sheriff or reeve or minister of the king or any 
layman should interfere in the laws that pertain to the bishop, 
or any layman should bring another to judgment without the 
justice of the bishop. Judgment, moreover, shall not be given 
in any place except in the bishop's see, or in such a place as 
the bishop shall have appointed for it. 

Although William evidently intended to strengthen the 
power of the bishops and other churchmen over the peo- 
ple who were not churchmen, yet the following bold letter 
written to Pope Gregory VII clearly expresses his in- 
tention to limit the papal authority as far as he could. 

65. William To Gregory, the most noble shepherd of the holy church, 

to the pope William, by the grace of God crowned king of the English and 
(A.D. 1076) ' ;■ & to & 

duke of the Normans, greeting with amity. Herbert, your 

legate, Holy Father, coming to me on your behalf, bade me to 
do fealty to you and your successors, and to think better on 
the matter of the money which my predecessors were wont to 
send to the Ronaan church. The one point I agreed to, the 
other I did not agree to. I refused to do fealty, nor will I; 
because neither have I promised it, nor do I find that my pred- 
ecessors did it to your predecessors. The money, for nearly 
three years, whilst I was in P'rance, has been carelessly collected ; 
but now that I am come back to my kingdom, by^God's mercy, 
what has been collected is now sent by the aforesaid legate, and 
what remains shall be dispatched, when opportunity serves, by 
the messenger of Lanfranc, our faithful archbishop. Pray for us 
and for the good estate of our realm, for we have loved your 
predecessors and desire to love you sincerely and to hear you 
obediently before all. 

The following is the statement of a contemporary 
chronicler concerning William's church policy. 

66. Eadmer's i . He would not then allow any one settled in all his do- 
statement of minions to acknowledge as apostolic the pontiff of the city of 
William's ^ , . ^ , . , ,^ , ^ \ 
rules for the RoiTie, save at his own biddmg ; or by any means to receive 

church any letter from him if it had not first been shown to himself. 



Englatid wider the Normans 1 1 1 

2. The primate also of his realm, I mean the archbishop of 
Canterbury, presiding over a general council assembled of 
bishops, he did not permit to ordain or forbid anything save 
what had first been ordained by himself as agreeable to his 
own will. 

3. He would not suffer that any, even of his bishops, should 
be allowed to implead publicly, or excommunicate or constrain 
by any penalty of ecclesiastical rigor, any of his btirons or min- 
isters accused of incest, adultery, or any capital crime, save by 
his command. 

HI. Domesday Book 

Just at the close of William's reign, at the Great 
Councils of the years 1085 and 1086, he ordered the 
Domesday survey and the Salisbury oath. The former 
was the first instance of such a national census since 
the time of the Roman Empire; the .latter was an act 
of policy opposed to the whole feudal tendency of the 
period. They both alike show William's great ambition 
and power. The following account is from the Anglo- 
Saxon Chronicle. 

A.D. 1085. At midwinter the king was at Gloucester with 67. Councils 
his witan ; and he held his court there five days ; and after- ^* Gloucester 
wards the archbishop and clergy held a synod there during ^^^^ 
three days ; and Maurice was there chosen to the bishopric 
of London, AVilliam to that of Norfolk, and Robert to that of 
Cheshire ; they were all clerks of the king. After this the king 
had a great consultation and spoke very deeply with his witan 
concerning this land, how it was held, and what were its ten- 
antry. He then sent his men over all England, into every 
shire, and caused them to ascertain how many hundred hides 
of land it contained, and what lands the king possessed therein, 
what cattle there were in the several counties, and how much 
revenue he ought to receive yearly from each. He also caused 
them to write down how much land belonged to his archbishops, 
his bishops, his abbots, and his earls, and, that I may be brief. 



1 1 2 Readings in EnglisJi History 

what property every inhabitant of all England possessed in 
land or in cattle, and how much money this was worth. So 
very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made that there 
was not a single hide nor a rood of land, nor — it is shameful 
to relate that which he thought no shame to do — was there 
an ox or a cow or a pig passed by that was not set down in the 
accounts ; and then all these writings were brought to him. 

A.D. 1086. This year the king wore his crown and held his 
court at Winchester at Easter, and he so journeyed forward 
that he was at Westminster during Whitsuntide, and there he 
dubbed his son Henry a knight. And afterward he traveled 
about, so that he came to Salisbury at Lammas ; and his 
witan, and all the landholders of substance in England, whose 
vassals soever they were, repaired to him there, and they all 
submitted to him and became his men and swore oaths of alle- 
giance, that they would be faithful to him against all others. 
Thence he proceeded to the Isle of Wight because he was to 
cross over to Normandy ; and this he afterwards did ; but first, 
according to his custom, he extorted immense sums from his 
subjects upon every pretext he could find, whether just or 
otherwise. Then he went over into Normandy. 

One of the reports made to William's men who carried 
out the Domesday survey describes, partially at least, 
how the information for the Domesday Book was ob- 
tained and what points it was expected to cover. The 
object seems to have been the collection of information 
that could be used for purposes of taxation. Knowledge 
of feudal payments was not sought for, so but little if 
anything can be found from it about the feudal tenure 
or customs of the period. 

68. Report of Here is subscribed the survey of lands as the barons of 

the posses- ^^ ^\r\g have made inquiry into them ; that is to say, by the 

abbey of Ely oath of the sheriff of the shire, and of all the barons and their 

Frenchmen, and the whole hundred, the priest, reeve, and 

six villains of each manor : to wit, what the manor is called, 



England under the Nor^mans 113 

who held it in the time of King Edward, who holds it now ; how 
many hides, how many plows in demesne, how many belong- 
ing to the men, how many villains, how many cottars, how 
many serfs, how many freemen, how many socmen, how much 
woods, how much meadow, how many pastures, how many 
mills, how many fish ponds, how much has been added or 
taken away, how much it was worth altogether at that time 
and how much now, how much each free man or socman had 
or has. All this threefold ; that is to say, in the time of King 
Edward, and when King William gave it, and as it is now ; 
and whether more can be had than is had. 

The first of the following extracts from Domesday 
Book is a translation of the facsimile page opposite 
page 112 of the SJiort History of England. As will be 
seen, the statements of Domesday Book are not very 
easy to understand, and can only be interpreted and 
made to throw light on the history of the period by 
much study and comparison with other passages. These 
extracts are given here rather to show clearly what was 
the character of the great record than to add very much 
to the knowledge of the elementary student. 

Suffolk. Land of Roger Bigot. Hundred of Bradmer. Stan- 69. Extracts 
hart holds from Roger Bigot, Bernham, which Ailwy of Thet- 
ford held as a manor in the time of King Edward. There is 
one plowland. At all times six bordars and one serf and two 
plows on the demesne and a half a plow of the men. Two 
acres of meadow ; at all times one mill. At both times there 
were two riding horses, now there is one. At that time there 
were three oxen, now six. At all times fourteen swine and 
twelve forest horses. At that time one hundred and sixty sheep, 
now three hundred, and five freemen. The predecessor of 
Roger had forty acres of these in commendation in the time 
of King Edward ; which Stanhart holds likewise. St. Edmund 
has the right of holding court there. At that time the manor 
was worth thirty shillings, now forty, and the freemen three 



from Domes- 
day Book 



114 Readings in English History 

shillings. It is twelve furlongs in length and ten in width, and 
pays eleven pence three farthings of danegeld. 

Half-hundred of Cosfort. In Watsfield one freeman under 
jurisdiction. And in the time of King Edward he was com- 
mended and his whole jurisdiction, and he has fifteen acres 
and these are worth two shillings and sixpence. He holds 
these from Hosdene. Biscopes Hundred. Roger Bigot holds 
Caranhall in domain, which Norman held in the time of King 
Edward. Four plowlands. At that tune and afterward ten 
villains, now fifteen ; then and afterward se\'en bordars, now 
seventeen ; always three plows on the demesne and ten plows 
of the. men, and five acres of meadow. Woods for sixty swine 
and now three riding horses and two oxen and thirty swine. 
At that time twenty-five sheep, now one hundred. The church 
has thirty acres and one plow. At that time it was worth one 
hundred shillings. In the same Ulveva held two plowlands 
as a manor, which Roger holds in domain. Then five villains, 
now seven ; then four bordars, now nine ; at all times two 
plows on the demesne, five plows of the men, and three acres 
of meadow. At that time it was worth sixty shillings. In that 
manor which Norman used to hold there are thirty-five freemen 
able to give and sell their lands, whom Roger holds in demesne 
with jurisdiction and all customs, and one acre of meadow, and 
now a market, of the gift of the king. 

The land of Robert Malet in Suffolk. Hundred of Baben- 
berg. Hubert holds from Robert Malet, Edwardston, which 
Godwin the son of ^.Ifric held in the time of King Edward, 
under the king, with jurisdiction, as a manor. It is of four 
plowlands. The church has thirty acres of free land. At that 
time there were ten villains, afterwards there were nine, now 
there are six. At that time and afterwards there were seven 
bordars, now there are thirteen. At that time and afterwards 
there were six serfs, now there are four. Then and afterwards 
three plows were on the demesne, now two. Then and after- 
wards the men had six plows, now three, with six acres of 
meadow. There is woods for ten swine ; there is a winter mill. 
At that time there were two horses in the stable, now there is 
one ; at that time there were seventeen cattle, now eleven ; at 



England nndcr the Normans 115 

that time there were sixty swine, now thirty-seven. At that time 
and afterward it was worth one hundred shillings, now seven 
pounds. In the same nine socmen have half a plowland. Then 
and afterwards they had one plow, now half a one, proportion- 
ately. This manor is six furlongs in length and six in breadth. 
Each man who holds there pays tenpence danegeld. . . . 

Stowe Hundred. Robert de Glanville holds from Robert 
Malet, Coating, which was held by Lewin, a freeman of Edric, 
the predecessor of Robert Malet, only commended to him. 
There is one plowland there in the jurisdiction of the king 
and the earl. . . . 

In Henley a certain freeman commended to Stanwin under 
Harold holds three acres, and they are worth eight pence, so . 

long as Humphrey holds them. The jurisdiction is in the hands 
of the abbot. In Debenham, Robert has two thirds of the 
church of St. Mary, twenty acres, for purposes of taxation, and 
the fourth part of the church of St. Andrew. 

IV. William II and Lanfranc 

Eadmer, a monk of Canterbury, gives the following 
account of the accession and a glimpse of the character 
of William Rufus. 

And so when King William was dead his son William sue- 70. Accession 
ceeded him in the kingdom. But when he found the great ^°^ ^^T^'^y 
men of the realm to be inclining towards his brother Robert, wiiliam ii. 
and that Lanfranc, without whose assent he was not able to at- 
tain the kingdom, was not altogether favorable to the carrying 
out of his desire, he feared lest the delay of his consecration 
would cause the loss of the honor he coveted. He therefore 
began both of himself and through others to promise to Lan- 
franc, with an oath and on his faith, that if he were king he 
would keep justice, mercy, and equity through the whole realm 
in all things ; that he would defend the peace, liberty, and 
security of the churches against all men, and would submit to 
his counsels and precepts for all things, and in all things. But 
when after this he had been confirmed in his kingship, he 



1 1 6 Readings in English History 

disregarded all his promises and fell into exactly contrary 
ways. When Lanfranc temperately remonstrated with him and 
charged him with the breaking of his agreement and his faith, 
he was stirred to fury. "Who is there," he said, "who can 
carry out all that he has promised ? " From this time he could 
not look the archbishop directly in the eyes, although from 
some of those things to which his will summoned him he did 
refrain, from respect to the prelate, while he still lived. For 
Lanfranc indeed was a man so learned in both divine and hu- 
man law, that the glances of the whole kingdom watched his 
face. When he departed from this life what a calamity it was 
to all the churches of England ! 

William of Malmesbury, another contemporary, tells 
some anecdotes showing that William II had much of 
the vigor, though little of the judgment, of his father. 

71. Bold But still there are some proofs of noble magnanimity in the 

^'"* ^ king, the knowledge of which I will not deny posterity. As he 
was once engaged in hunting in a certain forest, a foreign 
messenger acquainted him that the city of Mans, which he had 
lately added to his dominions on the departure of his brother, 
was besieged. Unprepared as he was, he turned his horse in- 
stantly, and shaped his journey to the sea. When his nobles 
reminded him that it would be necessary to call out his troops 
and put them in array, "I shall see," said he, "who will fol- 
low me : do you think I shall not have people enough? If I 
know the temper of the young men of my kingdom, they will 
even brave shipwreck to come to me." In this manner he 
- arrived, almost unattended, at the seacoast. The sky at that 
time was overcast, the wind contrary, and a tempest swept the 
surface of the deep. When he determined to embark directly, 
the mariners besought him to wait till the storm should subside 
and the wind be favorable. " Why," said William, " I have 
never heard of a king perishing by shipwTeck : no, weigh 
anchor immediately, and you shall see the elements conspire 
to obey me." When the report of his having crossed the sea 
reached the besiegers, they hastily retreated. One Helias, the 



England iinder the Normans 117 

author of the commotion, was taken ; to whom, when brought 
before him, the king said jocularly, " I have you, master." But 
he, whose haughty spirit, even in such threatening danger, 
knew not how to be prudent, or to speak submissively, replied : 
" You have taken me by chance ; if I could escape, I know 
what I would do." At this William, almost beside himself with 
rage, seizing Helias, exclaimed: "You scoundrel! And what 
would you do? Begone, depart, fly: I give you leave to do 
whatever you can ; and by the crucifix at Lucca, if you shall 
conquer me, I will ask no return for this favor." Nor did he 
falsify his word, but immediately suffered him to escape. 

It was not only the unquestioning belief in the reli- 
gious teachings of the church, but the embodiment of 
these in various forms, that took hold on the minds 
and played a large part in the lives of the people of 
the Middle Ages. The fondness for keeping visible 
mementos of famous persons is a familiar human char- 
acteristic, as shown in our museums and private col- 
lections. In the Middle Ages this took the form of 
preserving as relics parts of the bones or clothing or 
other objects connected with saints, martyrs, and per- 
sons of conspicuous piety. In the century after the 
Norman Conquest, while the cathedrals and monasteries 
were being built or rebuilt and increased in size and 
wealth, such objects of pious devotion were being con- 
tinually added to their contents. The following is a 
list of the relics contained in the cathedral at York at 
about this period. 

In the name of God, Amen. These are the relics found in 72. Relics in 

the church of the Blessed Peter at York : ^"""^ 

rr-i • ■ 1 • 1 1 1 <• , • minster 

io wit, m a great cross which stands before the pulpit at the 

entrance to the choir, which the archbishop Roger caused to be 

made and afterwards dedicated, in the body of the crucifix, the 

relics of the holy apostles Peter, Paul, and Matthew, and of the 



1 1 8 Readings in English History 

holy martyrs Maurice and his companions, Sebastian, and Ca- 
lixtus the pope ; bishop Cyprian ; Justina the mother of Fehx, 
bishop of Trier; St. Rusticus, bishop of Trier; and St. Felicitas. 

In another cross which stands behind the high altar, which 
the same Roger the archbishop caused to be prepared and 
afterwards dedicated, in the body of the image on the crucifix, 
relics of St. Luke the evangelist, of the holy martyrs Marcel- 
lianus and Peter, of St. Ciriacus the martyr, of St. Eufemia the 
virgin, of St.Tiburtius the martyr, of St. Nereus the martyr. 

In the great shrine behind the high altar in the large white 
box are contained the following relics : one joint of the finger 
of St. John the Baptist ; a stone from the sepulcher of the Lord ; 
one from the sepulcher of St. Macharius, archbishop of Antioch ; 
a tooth of St. Stephen the protomartyr ; a tooth of St. Bridget 
the virgin ; a piece of the stone on which St. John the Bap- 
tist sat. 

In another green box in the same shrine are contained the 
relics of the bones of St. Ciriacus the martyr ; part of the sar- 
cophagus of St. Macharius, archbishop of Antioch; some of 
the bones of St. Fergussanus the bishop ; some of the bones 
of St. Edward the martyr and St. Etheldreda the virgin ; a fin- 
ger of St. Pancras the martyr ; a portion of the manna which 
rained from heaven for the people of Israel ; some of the bones 
of St. Dion the bishop; a stone from the sepulcher of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; some engraved stones ; arib of St. Cassian 
the bishop ; some of the bones of St. Damian the bishop ; part 
of the manger of our Lord ; likewise part of the sepulcher of 
the Lord and relics of St. Lazarus, St. Eustachius, St. Urban, 
Sts. Gervase and Prothasius, martyrs, St. Remigius the confes- 
sor, St. Catherine the virgin, St. Gregory the pope ; part of the 
arms of St. Sebastian, of St. Felix and St. Adauctus, St. Vincent 
the martyr, Sts. Primus and Felician, St. Hilarius bishop of 
Poitou, Sts. Gordian and Epimachius, St. Julitta the virgin, 
St. Mary Magdalen, St. Innocent, St. Ipolitus the martyr, St. 
Tiburtius ; a part of the clothing of the holy apostles Simon 
and Jude. 

LikeAvise in the same shrine in a reddish box are contained 
the relics of the head of St. Christopher the martyr ; two teeth 



England under the Normans 119 

of St. Paulinus, archbishop of York, and other bones of the 
same ; bones of St. Ceadd the confessor ; part of the rod of 
Moses ; a portion of the stone on which the Lord Jesus sat 
during his forty days' fast ; bones of St. Folewin, bishop and 
confessor ; the dalmatic of St. Ambrosias ; the bones of St. 
Pelagia ; part of the sepulcher of St. Peregrinus the martyr, 
first bishop of Autun ; part of the head of St. Bartholomew 
the apostle ; part of the head of St. Susanna ; part of the 
clothing of St. Agatha the virgin. Likewise the jawbone of St. 
Susanna ; part of the sepulcher of St. Mary the virgin ; a por- 
tion of St. Martin the archbishop; some of the bones of St. 
Laurence the martyr ; relics of four sainted kings ; a portion 
of the stone on which the angel sat ; a part of St. Dunstan the 
archbishop and of St. Cedda the bishop. 

Likewise in the same shrine in the smaller white box are 
contained these relics : some of the bones of St. Maurice the 
martyr ; some of St. Dionysius ; a portion of the clothing of 
St. Etheldreda the virgin ; some of the manna which rained 
from heaven ; some of the bones of St. Sebastian the martyr 
and of St. Birinus the bishop ; an undergarment of St. Cuthbert 
the bishop, as well as a portion of the sepulcher of Lazarus ; 
relics of St. Christopher and of St. Oswald the king ; a portion 
of the cross of the Lord ; part of the clothing of St. Mary the 
virgin ; part of the head of St. Nicholas the bishop and con- 
fessor ; relics of St. Elphege ; part of the angelic clothing of 
St. Agnes the virgin. Likewise in the same shrine is the head 
of St. Everildis the virgin, wrapped up in a white linen cloth. 

In a shrine behind the altar of St. James are the bones of the 
body of St. Everildis the virgin and certain garments of the same. 

In a shrine behind the altar of St. Andrew are bones and Relics whose 
other relics. . . . the names are not known because there are names have 
certain writings there which are illegible on account of age and 
poor writing. . . . 

In a shrine covered with silver leaf are placed relics of which 
these are the names : one of the bones of St. Peter the apostle, 
which the venerable Roger, archbishop of York, brought from 
the home of the Lord. Likewise relics which the blessed Will- 
iam brought and Henry the archbishop and Thurstinus the 



I20 Readmgs in English History 

archbishop, to wit, the bones of the apostles Simon and Jude; 
some of the blood of the blessed Stephen the protomartyr; 
some of the blood of St. Laurence the martyr ; rehcs of Sts. 
Felix and Adauctus ; a finger of St. Dionysius the martyr ; some 
bones from the head of St. Benedict the abbot ; a portion of 
the cross on which the blessed Andrew was crucified ; relics of 
the holy martyrs Largus and Smaragdus ; some of the bones 
of St. Januarius the martyr \ bones of St. Lazarus and his sister 
Martha ; bones of St. Cornelius the pope ; relics of St. Nicholas, 
Sts. Crisas and Daria ; bones of St. Calixtus the pope ; some of 
the blood of St. Sebastian the martyr ; bones of Blessed Boni- 
face the martyr ; bones of St. Matthew the apostle ; a piece of 
the stone above the sepulcher of the Lord. 
Relics \\\ the shrine covered with silver leaf are placed these relics : 

Romf * ^""^ ^°"^^ °^ ^*- J°^" ^^^ Baptist ; one of the bones of St. Paul 
the apostle in a crystalline jar ; one of the bones of St. Quin- 
tinus, martyr ; one of the bones of St. Cornelius the pope ; 
one of the bones of St. Clement, pope and martyr ; four bones 
of Sts. Mary and Agatha, Audifax, and Abacuc ; vestments of 
the apostles Peter and Paul ; some of the bones of St. Felici- 
tas, ... of the holy martyrs Rusticus and Eleutherius; one 
of the bones of St. Cyprian, martyr ; some of the bones of St. 
Maurice . . .; bones of St. Calixtus, pope and martyr ; bones 
of St. Sebastian the martyr ; bones of St. Matthew the apostle ; 
the chin and rib of a certain saint whose name was not able to 
be read on account of the age of the writing ; bones of Justina, 
martyr, and St. Felix, bishop of Trier ; a portion of the sandals 
of St. Peter the apostle. All the above things contained in the 
shrine covered with silver leaf were brought by Roger of ven- 
erable memory, archbishop of York, from the home of the lord 
pope. And besides, in this shrine there is a beam of wood 
covered with copper on which the blessed Bridget was accus- 
tomed to weave. ... 

V. The Reign of Henry I 

The most marked characteristic of the reign of Henry I 
was his desire to conciliate all classes. This is shown most 



Ejigland under the N^onnaiis 1 2 1 

clearly by the charter that he issued soon after his coro- 
nation. Every king when he was crowned took an oath 
in which he promised to his people good government, but 
Henry followed this up with this additional written decla- 
ration in which he promised relief from the harshness of 
his brother's reign. 

In the year of the incarnation of the Lord iioi, Henry, 73. Corona- 
son of King William, after the death of his brother William, by ^^^^^^l"" 
the grace of God king of the English, to all faithful, greeting, (a.d. hoi) 

1. Know that by the mercy of God, and by the common 
counsel of the barons of the whole kingdom of England, I have 
been crowned king of the same kingdom ; and because the 
kingdom has been oppressed by unjust exactions, I, from 
regard to God, and from the love which I have toward you, in 
the first place make the holy church of God free, so that I will 
neither sell nor place at rent, nor, when archbishop, or bishop, 
or abbot is dead, will I take anything from the domain of the 
church, or from its men, until a successor is installed into it. 
And all the evil customs by which the realm of England was 
unjustly oppressed will I take away, which evil customs I partly 
set down here. 

2. If any of my barons, or earls, or others who hold from 
me shall have died, his heir shall not redeem his land as he 
did in the time of my brother, but shall relieve it by a just 
and legitimate relief. Similarly also the men of my barons 
shall relieve their lands from their lords by a just and legiti- 
mate relief. 

3. And if any of the barons or other men of mine wishes to 
give his daughter in marriage, or his sister or niece or relation, 
he must speak with me about it, but I will neither take any- 
thing from him for this permission, nor forbid him to give her 
in marriage, unless he should wish to join her to my enemy. 
And if when a baron or other man of mine is dead, a daughter 
remains as his heir, I will give her in marriage according to 
the judgment of my barons, along with her lands. And if when 
a man is dead his wife remains and is without children, she 



122 Readings in English History 

shall have her dowry and right of marriage, and I will not give 
her to a husband except according to her will. 

4. And if a wife has survived with children, she shall have 
her dowry and right of marriage, so long as she shall have kept 
her body legitimately, and I will not give her in marriage, 
except according to her will. And the guardian of the land 
and children shall be either the wife or another one of the 
relatives, as shall seem to be most just. And I require that my 
barons should deal similarly with the sons and daughters or 
wives of their men. . . . 

7. And if any one of my barons or men shall become 
feeble, however he himsqjf shall give or arrange to give his 
money, I grant that it shall be so given. Moreover, if he him- 
self, prevented by arms or by weakness, shall not have be- 
stowed his money, or arranged to bestow it, his wife or his 
children or his parents, and his legitimate men shall divide it 
for his soul, as to them shall seem best. 

8. If any of my barons or men shall have committed an 
offense, he shall not give security to the extent of forfeiture of 
his money, as he did in the time of my father, or of my brother, 
but according to the measure of the offense so shall he pay, as 
he would have paid from the time of my father backward, in 
the time of my other predecessors ; so that if he shall have 
been convicted of treachery or of crime, he shall pay as is just. 

9. All murders, moreover, before that day in which I was 
crowned king, I pardon ; and those which shall be done hence- 
forth shall be punished justly according to the law of King 
Edward. 

10. The forests, by the common agreement of my barons, I 
have retained in my own hand, as my father held them. 

1 1 . To those knights who hold their land by the cuirass, I 
yield of my own gift the lands of their demesne plows free 
from all payments and from all labor, so that as they have thus 
been favored by such a great alleviation, so they may readily 
provide themselves with horses and arms for my service and 
for the defense of the kingdom. 

12. A firm peace in my whole kingdom I establish and re- 
quire to be kept from henceforth. 



England under the Normans 1 2 3 

13. The law of King Edward I give to you again, with those 
changes with which my father changed it by the counsel of 
his barons. 

14. If any one has taken anything from my possessions 
since the death of King William, my brother,, or from the 
possessions of any one, let the whole be immediately returned 
without alteration ; and if any one shall have retained anything 
thence, he upon whom it is found shall pay it heavily to me. 
Witnesses Maurice, bishop of London, and Gundulf, bishop, 
and William, bishop-elect, and Henry, earl, and Simon, earl, 
and Walter Giffard, and Robert de Montfort, and Roger Bigod, 
and Henry de Port, at London, when I was crowned. 

Half a century had now passed since the Normans 
had become rulers of England, and the time of Edward 
the Confessor had already begun to be looked upon as 
the "good old times," as appears from the thirteenth par- 
agraph of Henry's charter. The monks of Westminster, 
strongly impressed with this feeling, sent an embassy to 
the pope to ask that Edward should be put on the list 
of saints. This was at first refused, as is shown in the 
following reply from the pope, but it was afterward 
granted and he was canonized. 

Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his 74. Pope 
beloved sons, Geoffrey, abbot, and the brothers of St. Peter of Jj^^^^^^^g" 
Westminster, greeting and apostolic benediction. When we re- of Westmin- 
ceived that religious man Prior Osbert with letters directed from ster (A.D. 
your brotherhood to us, we sent him back to you as if he were ^^^ 
our beloved son, so much were we impressed with his honesty 
and his brilliant conversation. Indeed his honorable importunity 
so nearly induced us to satisfy your desires, that if we had had 
sufificient testimony over the signature of bishops and abbots, 
he would have come back from the Roman court with your king 
duly canonized in the list of saints. But from the following 
cause, with the advice of our brothers the bishops and cardi- 
nals, we have decided to postpone your petition for the present, 



124 Readings in English History 

that is to say, because a blessing which is to redound to the 
honor of the whole kingdom should be petitioned for by the 
whole kingdom alike. 

It depends upon you, therefore, if you wish it, to secure 
suitable testimonies and to present these to our examination 
through suitably instructed persons from your monastery. In 
this and all other godly things we wish freely to grant your 
prayers, and to preserve the privileges of your monastery un- 
injured. It is for this reason that we have given command 
in our apostolic writings to our beloved brother Henry, bishop 
of Winchester, legate of the apostolic see, that he should give 
you full justice against all such as detain the churches, posses- 
sions, and goods of your monastery from you. It is to your 
interest, therefore, beloved sons in the Lord, so to live reli- 
giously according to your profession, and so to observe the 
rule of the blessed Benedict, that the example of your good 
conversation should lead all others to good living, and your 
mother, the holy Roman church, should be able to exult in 
your good actions. Given at the Lateran on the 25 th of 
November. 

In several countries of Europe about this period the 
rising claims of the church led to conflicts with the 
rulers. In England this difficulty was met by Henry I 
in the same spirit of conciliation that has already been 
shown in his coronation charter. The following is his 
letter to Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, summoning 
him home from the exile into which he had been driven 
by William II, and apologizing for not postponing the 
coronation till his return. 

75. King Henry, by the grace of God king of the English, to his 

Henry to most good spiritual father, Anselm, bishop of Canterbury, 
Anselm "^ greeting and demonstration of all friendliness. Know, my 
(A.D. iioi) dearest father, that my brother King William is dead, and I, 
by God's will, having been elected by the clergy and people 
of England, and already consecrated king, — although, owing 



England under the Normans 125 

to your absence, against my will,- — -I, with all the people of 
England, require you, as our father, that with all speed you 
come to take care of me, your son, and this same people, 
the care of whose souls has been committed to you. My own 
self, indeed, and the people of the whole realm of England I 
commend to your counsel and theirs who with you ought to 
take counsel for me. And I pray that it displease you not that 
I have received the royal blessing without you, from whom, had 
it been possible, I would have received it more willingly than 
from any other. But there was such necessity, because enemies 
wanted to rise against me and the people which I have to 
govern, and so my barons and this same people did not wish 
it to be deferred longer. By reason of this, then, I received 
it from your representatives. Indeed, I would have sent to 
you from my person some by whom I might have dispatched 
money to you, but, owing to the death of my brother, the 
whole world is so disturbed round about the realm of England 
that they would not have been in any wise able to reach you 
safely. I advise you then and enjoin you not to come through 
Normandy, but by Witsand, and I will have my barons at Dover 
to meet you and money to convey you, and you will find, by 
God's help, means to pay off well anything you have borrowed. 
Hasten, therefore, father, to come, lest our mother, the church 
of Canterbury, so long tempest-tossed and desolate, should any 
further for your sake experience the loss of souls. Witness, 
Gerard, bishop, and William, bishop-elect of Winchester, and 
William Warlewast, and Earl Henry, and Robert Fitz-Hamon, 
and Hamon my steward, and others, as well my bishops as 
barons. Farewell. 

The following letter from the pope to Henry I was a 
warning to him not to invest bishops, abbots, or other 
clergymen with their offices by his own hands or those 
of his lay officials ; that power being reserved, in the 
pope's opinion, to the clergy. By not making any men- 
tion of the king's demand that bishops and abbots should 
pay homage to him, the pope tacitly yielded this point. 



126 Readmgs in E7iglish History 

76. Pope Paschal, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his 

Paschal to dearest son Henry, king of the English, greeting and apostolic 
benediction. 

We thank the Lord, King of kings, who has in his own good 
pleasure raised you up to this kingdom, and in his ineffable 
kindness has kept watch over you as a Christian king through 
his own good will. We beg that he may increase even more the 
excellent beginnings of your kingdom, and even to the end pre- 
serve his gifts to you. For you have deserted the wickedness 
of the king your brother, which you see has been punished by 
a divine judgment. You have restored liberty to the churches, 
you have begun to venerate the leaders of the church, the 
bishops, and through these even Jesus Christ himself. We trust, 
therefore, that you will show wisdom in these things to the end, 
and will continue in the same uprightness ; although there are 
some men of wicked intention, who are trying to prepare the 
royal heart for divine anger through the investitures of bishops 
and abbots. 

Their plans ought to be avoided by you as though poisonous, 
lest you offend Him through whom kings reign and the power- 
ful decree just things. If you are favorable to Him, you will 
rule successfully and will have great power and riches. If you 
offend Him, although absent, neither the advice of the nobles, 
nor the aid of the soldiers, nor arms, nor riches will be able 
to save you when once He has turned from you. Moreover, 
in the honor of the Lord, in the liberty of the church, we will 
hold you as a friend and helper. Do not think that any one 
will tear us from your friendship, if you refrain from investi- 
tures, and if you maintain the honor due the church and its 
liberty founded by God. 
Prohibition of Accordingly, by command of the Holy Spirit we forbid kings 
lay invest!- ^j^^j princes, even more all other laymen, from investitures 
of the churches. For it is not fitting that a mother should be 
led into slavery by the son, that she should accept a husband 
whom she has not desired. She has as her husband our King 
and Master, who in his mercy will guard you in power and 
uprightness, and will lead you from an earthly kingdom to a 
heavenly. Amen. 



tures 



England tinder the Normans 127 

The results of this compromise are shown in the suc- 
ceeding extract from the history of Eadmer, a monk of 
Canterbury. 

On the first of August an assembly of bishops, abbots, and 77. The com- 

nobles of the realm was held at London in the king's palace, proinise on 

. • . T , 1 , investitures 

And for three successive days, m Ansehn s absence, the matter 

was thoroughly discussed between king and bishops concerning 
church investitures, some arguing that the king should act 
after the manner of his father and his brother, not according 
to the injunction and obedience of the pope. For the pope in 
the sentence which had been then published, though stand- 
ing firm, had conceded homage, which, as well as investiture, 
Pope Urban had forbidden, and in this way had won over the 
king about investiture, as may be gathered from the letter we 
have quoted above. Afterward, in the presence of Anselm and 
a large concourse, the king agreed and ordained that hence- 
forward no one should be invested with bishopric or abbacy 
in England by the giving of a pastoral staff or the ring by 
the king or any lay hand ; Anselm also agreeing that no one 
elected to a prelacy should be deprived of consecration to the 
office undertaken on the ground of homage which he should 
make to the king. After this decision, by the advice of Anselm 
and the nobles of the realm, bishops were appointed by the 
king, without any investiture by pastoral staff or ring, to nearly 
all the churches of England which had been so long widowed 
of their shepherds. ^ 

VI. Stephen and the Anarchy 

The very last entries in the Anglo-Saxon CJironicle, 
which had been confinued in one monastery clear down 
to this time, are accounts of the death of Henry I, and 
of the confusions and miseries of the reign of Stephen. 

1 For a number of extracts from continental writers describing the 
similar, though much more imbittered conflict there, see Robinson, 
Readings in European History, I, 272-293. 



128 



Rt'(7(/iri£^s in English History 



78. Last 
entry in the 
Anglo- 
Saxon 
Chronicle 



Coronation 
of Stephen 



Stephen 
arrests the 
great officers 
of state of 
Henrv I 



A.D. 1 155. This year, at Lammas, King Henry went over 
the sea ; and on the second day, as he lay asleep in the ship, 
the day was darkened miiversally, and the sun became as if it 
were a moon three nights old, with the stars shining around 
it at midday. Men greatly marveled, and great fear fell on 
them, and they said that some great e\ ent should follow there- 
after ; and so it was, for the same year the king died in Nor- 
mandy on the day after the feast of St. Andrew. Soon did this 
land fall into trouble, for every man greatly began to rob his 
neighbor as he might. Then King Henry's sons and his friends 
took his body, and brought it to England, and buried it at 
Reading. He was a good man, and great was the awe of him. 
No man durst illtreat another in his time ; he made peace for 
men and deer. Whoso bare his burden of gold and silver, no 
man durst say to him aught but good. In the meantime his 
nephew, Stephen de Blois> had arrived in England, and he 
came to London, and the inhabitants received him, and sent 
for the archbishop, William Corbeil, Avho consecrated him king 
on Midwinter Day. In this king's time was all discord, and evil- 
doing, and robbery ; for the powerful men who had kept aloof 
soon rose up against him ; the first was Baldwin de Redvers, 
and he held Exeter against the king, and Stephen besieged 
him, and afterwards Baldwin made terms with him. Then the 
others took their castles and held them against the king ; and 
David, king of Scotland, betook him to Wessington, but not- 
withstanding his array messengers passed between them, and they 
came together and made an agreement, though it availed little. 

A.D. 1 137. This year King Stephen went over sea to Nor- 
mandy, and he was received there because it was expected 
that he would be altogether like his uncle, and because he had 
gotten possession of his treasure, — but this he distributed and 
scattered foolishly. King Henry had gathered together much 
gold and silver, yet did he no good for his soul's sake with 
the same. When King Stephen came to England he held an 
assembly at Oxford ; and there he seized Roger, bishop of 
Salisbury, and Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, and Roger the 
chancellor, his nephew, and he kept them all in prison till 
they gave up their castles. When the traitors perceived that 



England under the Normans 1 29 

he was a mild man, and a soft, and a good, and that he did 
not enforce justice, they did all wonder. Ihey had done hom- 
age to him, and sworn oaths, but they no faith kept ; all became 
forsworn, and broke their allegiance, for every rich man built 
his castles, and defended them against him, and they filled 
the land full of castles. They greatly oppressed the wretched 
people by making them work at these castles, and when the 
castles were finished they filled them with devils and evil men. 
Then they took those whom they suspected to have any goods, 
by night and by day, seizing both men and women, and they 
put them in prison for their gold and silver, and tortured them 
with pains unspeakable, for never were any martyrs tormented 
as these were. They* hung some ui> by their feet and smoked The oppres- 
them with foul smoke, some by their thumbs or by the head ; sion of the 

•' •' people by 

and they hung burning things at their feet. They put a knotted the barons 
string about their heads, and twisted it till it went into the 
brain. They put them into dungeons wherein were adders and 
snakes, and toads, and thus wore them out. Some they put 
into a crucet house, — that is, into a chest that was short and 
narrow and not deep ; and they put sharp stones in it, and 
crushed the man therein so that they broke all his limbs. 
There were hateful and grim things called " sachenteges " in 
many of the castles, which two or three men had enough to 
do to carry. The sachentege was made thus : it was fastened 
to a beam, having a sharp iron to go around a man's throat 
and neck, so that he might no ways sit, nor lie, nor sleep, but 
that he must bear all the iron. Many thousands they exhausted 
with hunger. I cannot and I may not tell of all the wounds 
and all the tortures that they inflicted upon the wretched men 
of this land ; and this state of things lasted the nineteen years 
that Stephen was king, and ever grew worse and worse. They 
were continually levying an exaction from the towTis, which 
they called " tenserie," and when the miserable inhabitants had 
no more to give, then plundered they, and burnt all the towns, so 
that then well mightest thou walk a whole day's journey nor ever 
shouldest thou find a man seated in a town, or its lands tilled. 
Then was corn dear, and flesh, and cheese, and butter, 
for there was none in the land ; wretched men starved with 



130 



Readings in Ejiglish History 



Anarchy and hunger ; some lived on alms who had been erewhile rich ; some 
confusion of ^^^ ^.j^^ countrv — never was there more misery, and 



the country 



79. Seizure 
of Ramsey 
abbey by a 
disorderly 
nobleman 



country — never was tnere more misery, ana never 
acted heathens worse than these. At length they spared 
neither church nor churchyard, but they took all that was val- 
uable therein, and then burned the church and all together. 
Neither did they spare the lands of bishops, nor of abbots, nor 
of priests ; but they robbed the monks and the clergy, and 
every man plundered his neighbor as much as he could. If 
two or three men came riding to a town, all the township fled 
before them, and thought that they were robbers. The bishops 
and clergy were ever cursing them, but this to them was noth- 
ing, for they were all accursed and forsworn, and reprobate. 
The earth bare no corn ; you might as well have tilled the sea, 
for the land was all ruined by such deeds, and it was said 
openly that Christ and his saints slept. These things, and 
more than we can say, did we suffer during nineteen years 
because of our sins. 

Geoffrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex, may be taken 
to represent the lawless nobles of the time of Stephen. 
The latter part of his career and the fate of Ramsey 
abbey are described in the following extract from the 
contemporary history of William de Newburgh. 

Deprived of means of defense, but nevertheless allowed his 
freedom, Geoffrey de Mandeville, always active, great in mind, 
endowed with craft scarcely credible, wise beyond measure in 
doing evil, collected a band of outlaws and attacked the mon- 
astery of Ramsey ; nor did he fear, after he had driven forth 
the monks, to make their celebrated and holy place a den of 
thieves, and to turn the sanctuary of God into an abode for 
the devil. From here he terrorized the neighboring shires by 
frequent sallies and raids. Gaining confidence through the 
success of his undertaking, he advanced farther, descending on 
Stephen, the king, and terrifying him by his bold attacks. While 
he was thus reveling, God seemed to be asleep, and not to be 
watching over human affairs, or, rather, over his ecclesiastical 
matters; and pious workers said, "Awake ! why sleepest Thou, 



England under the Normans 131 

O Lord?" But after, as the apostle says, the Lord had 
endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to 
destruction, " then the Lord," as the prophet said, " awaked as 
one out of sleep, and smote his enemies in the hinder parts," 
although the former deeds of these seemed fortunate. Finally, 
a little before the destruction of this wicked robber, the walls 
of the church which he had seized, as well as the adjoining 
cloister, sweat true blood ; by which, as was afterwards appar- 
ent, was shown the wickedness of the crime and the judgment 
already threatening this wickedness. But when those wicked 
men, entirely devoid of any sense of uprightness, were not 
frightened by this horrible sign, that worthless man attacked 
the hostile camp, and, while closely surrounded by his own men, 
was struck on the head by an arrow from a common soldier. 
After several days this most insolent man died of this little 
wound, — although at first he made a jest of it, — carrying with 
him to the lower regions the bond of ecclesiastical anathema, 
from which he should never be freed. 

VII. Feudalism 

Two codes of laws or statements of legal customs, 
drawn up by unknown writers in the eleventh and 
twelfth centuries, known as the Laivs of William the 
Conqueror and the Laivs of Henry /, occasionally give 
statements of feudal custom in definite terms, as in 
the two extracts that follow. 

The relief of an earl, which comes to the king, is eight 80. Reliefs to 

horses, of which four shall have saddles and bridles, and along \^ ^^',*^,*°f 

° feudal lord 
with them four breastplates, four helmets, four lances, four 

shields, and four swords ; and the other four horses are to be 

riding horses or hunting horses, with bridles and coverings. 

The relief of a baron is four horses, of which two are to 

have saddles and bridles, and with them two breastplates, two 

shields, two helmets, two lances, and two swords ; and of the 

other two horses one shall be a riding horse, the other a hunter, 

with bridles and coverings. 



132 Readings in Efiglish History 

The relief of a vassal, which comes to his liege lord, is the 
horse of his father, such as he had it on the day of his death, 
and a breastplate, helmet, shield, lance, and sword. If per- 
chance he did not have these, he shall be able to acquit him- 
self of it by paying a hundred shillings. 

The relief of a villain is his best beast ; whether it is an ox 
or a horse, it shall be his lord's. 

He who holds the land for a yearly payment, his relief shall 
be as much as the payment of one year. 

The following rules are of a more general character. 

81. Duties It is allowable to any one, without punishment, to support 

of lords and j^jg lord, if any one assails him, and to obey him in all legitimate 

ways, except in theft, murder, and in all such things as are 

not conceded to any one to do, and are reckoned infamous by 

the laws. 

The lord ought to do likewise equally with counsel and with 
aid ; and he may come to his man's assistance in his vicissitudes 
in all ways, without forfeiture. 

To every lord it is allowed to summon his man that he may 
be at right to him in his court ; and even if he is resident at 
the most distant manor of that honor from which he holds, he 
shall go to the plea if his lord summons him. If his lord holds 
different fiefs, the man of one honor is not compelled by law to 
go to another plea, unless the cause belongs to the other to 
which his lord has summoned him. 

If a man holds from several lords and honors, however much 
he holds from others, he owes most and will be subject for 
justice to him of whom he is the liegeman. 

Every vassal owes to his lord fidelity concerning his life and 
members and earthly honor, and keeping of his counsel in what 
is honorable and useful, saving the faith of God and of the 
prince of the land. Theft, however, and treason and murder 
and whatever things are against the Lord and the Catholic 
faith, are to be required of or performed by no one ; but faith 
shall be held to all lords, saving the faith of the earlier, and the 
more to the one of which he is the liege. And let permission 
be given him, if any of his men seek another lord for himself. 



England under the Normans 133 

In 1 1 66 the king issued orders requiring all his feudal 
tenants to make acknowledgment in writing of the num- 
ber of knights or armed men each was bound to furnish. 
The amount of land for which the service of one knight 
was owed was called a knight's fee or a knight's fief. 
The following are some of the replies sent to this demand 
for information. In some cases the tenant in chief ful- 
filled the service in his own person, which was called 
"holding his estate in domain"; in other cases he had 
subinfeudated the land to others and reports the names 
of those holding it and owing him the service which he 
in turn owes the king. 

To Henry, king of the English, his most revered lord, 82. Acknowl- 
Herbert Fitzherbert, greeting. of S? 

I notify you that I hold one knight's fee from you, which service 
I have in my demesne and for which I myself do service 
to you. 

To his dearest lord, Henry the king of the English, Robert Robert de 
de Beauchamp, greeting and faithful service. Lord, according Beauchamp 
to your command, I signify to you as to my lord, that from the 
fief which I hold from you in chief, Hugh de Vauburt holds 
seven knight's fees ; William de Minster, three knight's fees ; 
Simon Fitzhubert, one knight's fee ; Robert Germain, one 
knight's fee; Lucas Herbein, one knight's fee; a certain boy 
of three years of age, named Philip of Dorset, one knight's fee. 
And from my demesne I owe the service of two knights. 

I, William de Colecherche, owe to my lord King Henry half William de 
the service of one knight, in Norfolk, of an ancient holding from Colecherche 
the Conquest of England. I do not wish to conceal my service 
which I ought to do to you, but to do it ; and I have done 
homage to you, O lord, and to my lord Henry your son, and I 
have done service to your sheriff. 

Similar records of tenants and subtenants are to be 
found in the document known as the Hundred Rolls. 



134 



Readings in English History 



tenants and 
subtenants 



83. Records of John Fitzjohn holds two plowlands in Repinghall and in 
Ringsdon, mediately, from William de Ros for the service of 
half a knight's fee, and it is taxable and is worth ^10 per 
year ; and the same William de Ros holds these two plow- 
lands from Elias de Raban, mediately, and the same Elias 
holds them from the king in chief. 

The same John Fitzjohn holds half a plowshare in Kirkby 
from Adam Holyland, mediately, for the service of the eighth 
part of one knight's fee ; and the same Adam holds this medi- 
ately from Elias de Raban, and the same Elias holds it from 
the king in chief. 

Reginald de Evermere holds in Rouceby two plowlands 
and a half from Baldwin Wake for military service, and they 
are worth ^^ per year. And the same Baldwin holds for mili- 
tary service from the lord bishop of Durham ; and the lord 
bishop from the king in chief. 



84. Ward- 
ship, mar- 
riage, and 
relief 



The right of the king to the feudal dues of wardship 
and marriage was frequently transformed into cash by- 
selling it to some person willing to give money for the 
privilege of using the heir's land during his minority and 
choosing a wife or husband for the heir when he or she 
became of age. Such grants by the king or payments 
to the king are recorded very frequently in the treasury 
records. 

Jordan de Valence and Robert his son promise to pay 20 
marks to have the guardianship of the heir of Rowland de 
Avers with all his inheritance ; and to have license to marry 
the heir to any one they wish, so long as he is not disparaged, 
with the promise that if either of them die the survivor shall 
have the aforesaid guardianship in the aforesaid way and for 
the aforesaid payment. 

The payment of relief is illustrated by the following 
account in the rolls of the Exchequer of a mistake by 
which the heir was in the first place only charged a relief 



England tinder the Normans 135 

of fifty shillings, when he ought really to have paid two 
hundred pounds. 

The king accepted the homage of William Longespee, son 85. Payment 
and heir of Idonea, widow of William Longespee, for all the "* relief 
lands which the said Idonea had held. And the abbot of Per- 
shore, escheator of the king, received orders to collect from 
the same William fifty shillings to the king's use, as his relief. 
And afterward, when the records at the treasury had been 
searched, it was found that the said Idonea had held from the 
king, in capite, two baronies ; that is to say, the barony which 
had formerly been that of Nicholas de la Hay in the county 
of Lincoln, and the barony which was formerly that of Gerard 
de Camville in the county of Oxford and elsewhere. Therefore 
it was decided by the barons that the aforesaid William should 
pay to the king two hundred pounds for his relief for the afore- 
said baronies, instead of the fifty shillings as was contained in 
the former order. 

The right to hold a court in which his tenants' suits 
must be tried was one of the invariable feudal customs ; 
and nobles, knights, abbots, and other feudal lords were 
constantly appealing to the king to be supported in their 
rights, as in the following case which guarantees his 
feudal court to the abbot of Abingdon. 

Henry, king of England, to Ralph Basset, greeting. 86. Writ of 

I command you to cause Vincent, abbot of Abingdon, to ^he sheriff of 
have his court in Oxfordshire as well and fully as that church Oxfordshire 
of Abingdon ever had it, or any one of his predecessors had it, 
best and most fully and honorably. And his men shall not 
plead outside of his court unless the abbot has first failed to 
give right in his court, and as you are able to make inquisition 
through the legal men of Oxfordshire that he ought to have his 
court. Witness the chancellor ; at Woodstock. 

If a vassal refused or neglected to perform his military 
service to his lord, his land might be confiscated. It is 
such a case that is described in the following extract. 



136 Readings in English History 

87. Confisca- It is presented by the jurors al)ove named that the manor 

tion and ^^ Chinnore along with the hamlet of Sydenham was held of 

regrant of ° •' 

a fief old, from the time of the Conquest, from the lord king of Eng- 

land, by a certain man who was named Walter de Vernon, as 
one knight's fee ; and because the said Walter de Vernon refused 
to perform his due service from the said manor to the lord 
king John, in the time of the war which sprang up between the 
lord king John and the king of France, the lord king John with 
the advice of his council seized that same manor with its 
appurtenances, and removed the said W'alter de Vernon, on 
account of his ingratitude, from the possession of the aforesaid 
manor forever. And the lord king John granted that same 
manor with its appurtenances, for the services that to the same 
lord king were due from it, to Saer de Quincy, formerly earl of 
Winchester, to hold to himself and his heirs /// capifc from the 
lord king as one knight's fee ; and the heirs of the said Saer 
held the aforesaid manor in succession, and still hold it, except 
the hamlet Sydenham, which the abbot of Thame holds as a 
^ gift from Roger de Quincy. 



CHAPTER VIII 

FOUNDATIONS OF NATIONAL UNITY, ii 54-1216 

I. Henry II and his Reforms 

There was so much writing during this period that 
the principal circumstances of the time have come down 
to us fully described in the contemporary literature. 
Only short extracts can of course be given from these 
long accounts. The first describes the personality of 
Henry II, which counted for so much in the history of 
the time. It is taken from Gerald de Barry, or Giraldus 
Cambrensis, " Gerald of Wales," as he called himself, 
who knew Henry well. 

Henry Second, king of the English, was a man of ruddy 88. Henry's 
complexion, large, round head, piercing, blue-gray eyes, fierce Personal 
and glowing red in anger, with fiery face and a harsh voice, habits, and 
He was short of neck, square of chest, strong of arm", and character 
fleshy in body. By nature rather than from over-indulgence 
he had a large paunch, yet not such as to make him sluggish. 
For he was temperate in food and drink, sober and inclined to 
be prudent in all things so far as this is permitted to a leader. 
And that he might overcome this unkindness on the part of 
nature by diligence, and lighten the fault of the flesh by 
greatness of spirit, often by an internal warfare, as it were con- 
spiring against himself, he exercised his body with unbounded 
activity. Besides, wars frequently occurred; in these he was 
preeminent in action and gave himself not a moment of rest. 
In times of peace as well, he took no rest or quiet for himself. 
Immoderately devoted to hunting, he went out at early dawn 

137 



138 Readings in English History 

on a swift horse. Now descending into the valleys, now pene- 
trating the forests, now ascending the peaks of mountains, 
he spent his days in activity ; when he returned to his home 
in the evening, either before or after the meal one rarely saw 
him seated. Then after such strenuous exertion on his part he 
used to weary the whole court by continual marches. 
Henry and He was a man of medium height, a thing which could not 

Richard, |^g g^j^ q£ ^ q£ ]^-g sons, — the two elder a Httle exceeding 

Geoffrey and , . ; , -i , • 1 i 1 1 

John medium height, while the two younger remained below that 

stature. Setting aside the activities of his mind and his impulse 
to anger, he was chief among the eloquent, and — a thing which 
is most conspicuous in these times — he was most skilled in let- 
ters ; a man easy to approach, tractable, and courteous ; in po- 
liteness second to none. A leader so strong in sense of duty 
that, often as he conquered in arms, he himself was more often 
conquered by his sense of justice. Strenuous in war, in peace 
he was cautious. Often in martial affairs he shrank from the 
possible disasters of war, and tried wisely all things before re- 
sorting to arms. He wept over those lost in the line of battle 
more than their leader ; he was more gentle to the dead soldier 
than to the living, mourning with much greater grief over the 
dead than winning the living with his love. When disasters 
threatened, none was kinder ; when security was gained, no 
one was more severe. Fierce towards the unconquered, merci- 
ful towards the conquered ; strict towards those at home, easy 
towards strangers ; in public lavish, prudent in private. If he 
had once hated a man, rarely afterwards would he be fond of 
him ; scarcely ever would he hate one whom he had once 
loved. He was especially fond of hawking ; he was equally 
delighted with dogs, which followed wild beasts by sagacity of 
scent, taking pleasure as well in their loud sonorous barkings 
as in their swift speed. 
His prefer- Would that he had been as much inclined to devotion as he 

ence for the ^^g |.q hunting ! Although he was a son of the church and had 

army over the , , ,,, ,,. •• -i -jri 

church dra^vn from her the honor of his position, either unmmdml or 

inattentive to the holy power which had been conferred upon 
him, he devoted scarcely any time to divine services ; and even 
this little time, perhaps on account of great affairs of state and 



Foundations of National Unity 1 39 

for the sake of the public welfare, he consumed more in plans 
and talk than in true devotion. The revenues of the vacant 
sees he turned into the public treasury. The mass became cor- 
rupted by the working of the leaven, and while the royal purse 
kept receiving that which Christ demands as his own, new 
troubles kept arising. In the meantime he kept pouring out 
the universal treasure, giving to a wicked soldiery what ought 
to have been given to the priesthood. 

Very wisely he planned many things, arranging them care- 
fully. These affairs did not always result successfully, — in fact, 
often turned out quite the opposite. But never did any great 
disaster occur which did not spring from causes connected with 
his family. As a father he enjoyed the childhood of his chil- 
dren with natural affection ; through their older years, however, 
looking at them more as a stepfather. And although great and 
famous sons were his, nevertheless they were a hindrance to his 
perfect happiness. Perhaps this was according to his deserts, 
since he always pursued his successors with hatred. 

Whomsoever he once had carefully observed, although sur- 
rounded daily by so great a number, he never afterwards forgot. 
Whatever he heard anywhere which was worthy of being remem- 
bered, he never allowed to slip from his memory. He thus had 
at hand ready knowledge on almost all historical subjects, and 
experience in almost all affairs. And to conclude these remarks 
by a few additional words, if he had been finally elected by God, 
and would finally turn himself to allegiance to Him, among the 
leaders in the world he would be incomparable on account of 
his many gifts of nature. 

The early events of Henry's reign are described with 
great fullness by William of Newburgh, who lived in the 
latter part of Henry's reign and wrote a history of his 
own period. 

In the year 1154 Henry, a grandson of Henry the elder 89. The pol- 
through his daughter, formerly the empress, came into Eng- ^^y °* 
land from Normandy after the death of King Stephen. He re- 
ceived there his hereditary kingdom, and, after being warmly 



140 Readings in English History 

greeted by all, was consecrated king with the holy oil, while 
all the people throughout the kingdom exclaimed, " Long 
live the king ! " Having experienced the unhappiness of the 
former reign, in which so many evils had arisen, all hoped for 
better things from the new king, especially since great wisdom, 
together with a great zeal for justice, seemed to possess him, 
and since he already gave the appearance of a great leader in 
his very first acts. Soon he published an edict that those who 
had come to England from foreign nations during the reign of 
Stephen, to enrich themselves under the guise of performing 
Expulsion of military service, and especially the Flemings, of whom there 
the Flemings ^^^^ ^ great abundance dwelling in England then, should return 
to their own countries, and he set a day for their departure, 
beyond which day it would be very hazardous for them to re- 
main in England. Frightened by this edict, they slipped away 
in so short a time that they seemed to have disappeared like 
phantoms, leaving many to wonder how they had vanished so 
quickly. Presently the new strongholds, which had not existed 
in the days of his grandfather, he ordered to be demolished, 
with the exception of a few situated in most excellent positions, 
which either he himself wished to retain or to be retained for 
the protection of the kingdom by the peaceable. Especially 
did he take care of the public order, and that the strength of 
the law might be felt again in England, which seemed to have 
been destroyed and buried under Stephen. Thus he had his 
hands full of weighty matters. 

The king, considering that the royal revenue was small 
which had been large under his grandfather, because the 
crown lands through the weakness of King Stephen had been 
transferred for the most part to many other lords, ordered 
these to be resigned completely, by whomsoever held, and to 
be returned to their former condition. The men who were 
prominent in the royal towns and manors brought forward 
charters, which they had either extorted from King Stephen 
or bought from him by service. But si^e the charters of a 
usurper ought by no means to harm the' right of the legitimate 
prince, they could not be safe with these documents. And so 
at first angry, then frightened and saddened, with difficulty 



Foundations of National Unity I4I 

indeed, but nevertheless wholly, did they resign these things 
which had been taken and retained so long as if by legitimate 
right. . . . 

The king therefore carried out all these things in this dis- Humbling of 
trict according to his wish, and then went to the north of Eng- Hugh de 
land. Here he found that Hugh de Mortimer, a brave and 
highborn man, had been rebelliously holding for many years 
the royal stronghold of Bridgenorth. When he was ordered to 
be content with his own and to return those things which he 
possessed by royal gift, he refused most obstinately and pre- 
pared to resist in whatever ways he could. But that his pride 
and indignation were more than his courage appeared in the 
outcome. For the king quickly collected an army and besieged 
Bridgenorth, which after a few days' siege surrendered ; and 
he pardoned this man humbled and a suppliant, whose heart 
a few days before had been the heart of a lion. 

The most important work of Henry II, however, was 
not the mere restoration of order at the beginning of his 
reign, but the establishment of rules and a procedure 
which should keep the country in order for the future. 
The Assize of Clarendon, issued by him in 1166, after 
-^ Lftuncil held at his hunting seat of Clarendon in Wilt- 
shire, is perhaps the most striking instance of this. The 
following are its more important provisions. 

Here begins the Assize of Clarendon, made by King Henry 90. Extracts 
H, with the assent of the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, ^^°°^ ^^^ 
and barons of all England. Clarendon 

I. In the first place, the aforesaid King Henry, with the 
consent of all his barons, for the preservation of the peace and 
the keeping of justice, has enacted that inquiry should be made 
through the several counties and through the several hundreds, 
by twelve of the more legal men of the hundred and by four of 
the more legal men of each manor, upon their oath that they Accusation to 
will tell the truth, whether there is in their hundred or in their ^^ "^^'l® '^^ ^ 
manor any man who has been accused or publicly suspected 
of himself being a robber, or murderer, or thief, or of being a 



142 



Readiiigs in English History 



Trial by 
ordeal 



receiver of robbers, or murderers, or thieves, since the lord 
king has been king. And let the justices make this inquiry 
before themselves, and the sheriffs before themselves. 

2. And let any one who has been found by the oath of 
the aforesaid to have been accused or publicly suspected of 
having been a robber, or murderer, or thief, or a receiver 
of them, since the lord king has been king, be arrested and 
go to the ordeal of water, and let him swear that he has not 
been a robber, or murderer, or thief, or receiver of them 
since the lord king has been king, to the value of five shil- 
lings, so far as he knows. 

12. And if any one is captured who has in his possession 
the fruits of robbery or theft, if he is of bad reputation and has 
an evil testimony from the public, and has not a warrant, let 
him not have law. And if he shall not have been accused on ac- 
count of the possession which he has, let him go to the water. 

14. The lord king wills, moreover, that those who make 
their law and shall be absolved by the law, if they are of very 
bad testimony, and publicly and disgracefully spoken ill of by 
the testimony of many and legal men, shall abjure the lands of 
the king, so that within eight days they shall go over the sea, 
unless the wind shall have detained them ; and with the first 
wind which they shall have afterward they shall go over the 
sea, and they shall not afterward return into England, except on 
the permission of the lord king ; and then let them be outlawed 
if they return, and if they return they shall be seized as outlaws. 

15. And the lord king forbids any vagabond — that is, a 
unkrunvn wandering or an unknown man — to be sheltered anywhere 

except in a borough, and even there he shall be sheltered only 
one night, unless he shall be sick there, or his horse, so that 
he is able to show an evident excuse. 

16. And if he shall have been there more than one night, 
let him be arrested and held until his lord shall come to give 
securities for him, or until he himself shall have secured 
pledges ; and let him likewise be arrested who has sheltered him. 



Opposition 
to ' ■ 
or unknown 
men 



Another assize or law passed by Henry II, requiring all 
men to keep in their possession arms according to their 



Foimdations of National Unity 143 

rank, shows how completely the king trusted all classes 
of the people to refrain from violence, and how strong 
his government really was. 

1. Whoever holds one knight's fee shall have a coat of mail, 91. Extracts 
a helmet, a shield, and a lance ; and every knight shall have as *^°°? *'^® 
many coats of mail and helmets and shields and lances as he Arms 

has knight's fees in his demesne. 

2. Every free layman who has goods or rent to the value of 
sixteen marks shall have a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and 
a lance ; every free layman who has in goods or rents ten marks 
shall have a shirt of mail and a headpiece of iron and a lance. 

3. Likewise all burgesses and the whole body of freemen 
shall have padded coats and headpieces of iron and lances. 

4. Every one of these shall swear that before the feast of 
St. Hilary he will have these arms, and will bear faith to his 
lord King Henry, son of Empress Matilda, and will keep these 
arms for his service according to his command and in fidelity 
to his lord the king and his realm. And no one of those who 
have these arms shall sell them or pawn them or give them 
away, or in any other way alienate them from himself; nor 
shall any lord alienate them in any way from his man, either 
by forfeiture, or by gift, or by pledge, or in any other way 
whatsoever. ... 



n. The Struggle with Thomas 

A great many contemporary descriptions of Thomas 
of Canterbury, narratives of his life, accounts of his 
struggle with the king, and letters from him and to him 
written by prominent men of the time still exist, filling 
seven portly printed volumes. The first of the following 
short selections from these refers to the time when 
Thomas was chancellor. 

Such is the dignity of the chancellor of England that he is 
considered second only to the king in power ; that he signs 



144 



Rit7(/i//^s in Etiglish History 



92. William 
Fitz- 
Stephen's 
account of 
Thomas 



Thomas as 
chancellor 



Story of King 
Henry and 
Thomas's 
cloak 



his o\\Ti commands with the reverse side of the royal seal, 
which is intrusted to his custody ; that the chapel of the king 
is under his direction and care ; that he himself receives and 
preserves the vacant archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbacies, and 
baronies falling into the hands of the king ; that he is present 
at all the councils of the king, and that he comes even though 
not summoned ; that all things are signed by the hand of the 
royal seal bearer, his clerk ; that all things are arranged in ac- 
cordance with the plans of the chancellor. . . . 

The home and table of the chancellor was open to all the 
needy of all orders coming to the court of the king, who were 
honest or who seemed to be. Almost never did he sit down 
to a meal without earls and barons whom he himself had in- 
vited. He ordered every day in winter his place for the enten- 
tainment of guests to be strewn with fresh straw or hay, and 
in summer with fresh rushes and green leaves, in order that 
he might receive in a clean and cheerful place a great number 
of knights which could not be otherwise accommodated at his 
humble table ; and also that any costly clothing and fine shirts 
might not receive a spot from the dirt of the floor. His house 
was resplendent with gold and silver vases, and abounded in 
expensive dishes and drinking cups. If he could procure any- 
thing choice for eating or drinking, a high price did not deter 
his purchasers from obtaining it. Nevertheless, he was ex- 
tremely moderate in all these things, so that even the rich 
might collect alms from his rich table. . . . 

On account of his many virtues, his greatness of mind, his 
many deeds of kindness coming from a natural sweetness of 
disposition, the chancellor was most acceptable to the king, 
the clergy, the soldiers, and the people. After serious matters 
had been carefully considered, the king and he would have 
their sport together like boys of the same age, in castle, in 
church, in meetings, on horseback. One day they were riding 
in the streets of London ; the day was raw and disagreeable ; 
from afar the king espied, a man coming towards them who 
was poor, old, and clad in tattered garments. The king said 
to the chancellor, " Do you see that man yonder? " The chan- 
cellor answered, " Yes." Then the king said : " How poor, how 



Foundatiojis of National Unity 145 

feeble, how ragged ! Would it not be a great act of charity 
to give him a warm heavy cloak?" The chancellor replied, 
"A very great act of charity indeed, and one which you ought 
to perform, having discernment for affairs of this kind." In the 
meantime the poor man was near at hand ; the king halted, 
and the chancellor with him. The king addressed the poor 
man kindly and asked whether he would like to have a good 
cloak. The poor man, not knowing them, thought it a joke not 
to be taken seriously. Then the king addressed the chancellor, 
saying, "You will have a chance to perform this great act of 
charity," and laying his hands on the hood of the chancellor, 
the king tried to tear from the chancellor his cloak in which 
he was clad, and which was new and made of the very best of 
scarlet and miniver, while the chancellor struggled to retain it. 
Then there arose in that place a great disturbance ; the great 
men and the knights who were following them hastened in curi- 
osity to find out what was the reason for so sudden a struggle 
between them ; nor was there any one to tell; each was so in- 
tent on taking his own part that they seemed as if about to 
fall. At length the chancellor reluctantly allowed the king to 
conquer, to draw the cloak from him as he bent over, and to pre- 
sent it to the poor man. Then the king related to his friends 
whathad taken place. Great laughter followed. Some stretched 
out to the chancellor their cloaks and mantles. The poor man 
went away with the garment of the chancellor, rich and happy 
far beyond his expectation, and joyfully praising God. . . . 

The outbreak of the great dispute between Henry 
and Thomas is described by Roger of Hoveden, one of 
the best known of the contemporary chroniclers. 

In the year of grace 1 163, which was the ninth year of the 93. The dis- 
reign of King Henry, son of the Empress Matilda, this same pute between 
king of England returned from Normandy into England ; and xhomas 
King Malcolm having recovered at Doncaster from a great 
illness, peace was established between him and the king of 
England. In the same year Alexander, the pope, held a gen- 
eral council at Tours, in which he excommunicated Octavianus, 
the antipope. 



146 Readings in English History 

In the same year a serious conflict arose between the 
king of England and Thomas, the archbishop of Canterbury, 
concerning ecclesiastical dignities which this same king of the 
English was attempting to disturb and diminish, while that 
famous archbishop was striving in all ways to preserve the laws 
and authority of the church unimpaired. The king wished to 
bring to secular trial priests, deacons, subdeacons, and other 
churchmen if caught in robbery, murder, felony, arson, or any 
like misdemeanor, and then to punish them the same as lay- 
men. Against- this the archbishop said that if a clerk, estab- 
lished in holy orders, or any other churchman, should have 
been charged with anything, he ought to be judged by eccle- 
siastical men and in the ecclesiastical court, and if he were 
convicted he ought to lose his rank ; then if, removed from 
office and his ecclesiastical benefice, he should afterwards do 
wrong, he should be judged according to the will of the king 
and his officers. 

In the year 11 64, which was the tenth year of the reign of 
King Henry, son of the Empress Matilda, this same Henry gave 
to Henry, duke of Saxony, his daughter Matilda in marriage. 

In the same year the king summoned a great council, includ- 
ing all the bishops and archbishops of England, and begged 
that they would receive the laws of Henry his grandfather and 
carefully guard them, for love of him and for the good of the 
kingdom. Thomas, the archbishop of Canterbury, on behalf ot 
himself and others, replied to the king that they would receive 
those laws which he called his grandfather's, and would pre- 
serve them in good faith, saving always the dignity of the arch- 
bishop's rank, and the honor of God and the holy church. This 
kind of assent displeased the king very much, and he tried 
in every way to accomplish his design, that the bishops should 
promise without any exception that they would observe those 
laws ; but the archbishop of Canterbury was unwilling to prom- 
ise this in any way. . . . 
The Council Then there came into England a certain religious man, 
of Clarendon phiiip d'Aumale, sent as legate a latere from Alexander the 
pope, and all the cardinals, to make peace between the king and 
the archbishop of Canterbury ; through him the chief pontiff 



Foimdatio7is of National Unity 1 47 

and all the cardinals commanded the archbishop of Canterbury 
that he should make peace with the lord king of England and 
promise to obey his laws without any exception. Thomas, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, agreeing to these and other plans of the 
great men, came to the king at Woodstock, and there prom- 
ised the king that he would, in good faith and without any evil 
thoughts, keep his laws. A little afterwards the king summoned 
the clergy and people of the kingdom to Clarendon, where the 
archbishop regretted having made this concession to the king. 
Wishing to withdraw from his promise, he said that he had 
sinned greatly in ever yielding, but that he would sin no farther. 
The king was greatly angered by this and threatened him and 
his followers with death and exile. And so there came to him 
the bishops of Salisbury and Norwich, as well as Robert, earl 
of Leicester, and Reginald, earl of Cornwall; and likewise two 
Templars came, Richard of Hastings and Tostes of St. Omer. 
Weeping they threw themselves at the feet of the archbishop 
and begged that he would, on account of the honor of the king, 
go to him and say before the people that he would receive 
his laws. 

The archbishop was moved by the entreaties of so many Constitutions 
men, and, coming to the king before the clergy and people, °^ Clarendon 
made the statement that he would accept those laws which 
the king called his grandfather's ; and he granted that the ' 
bishops should receive those laws and that they should promise 
to enforce them. Then the king ordered all the earls and 
barons of the kingdom to go apart and collect all the laws 
of Henry the king, his grandfather, and put them in writing. 
When this had been done the king ordered the archbishops 
and bishops to place their seals to that writing ; and although 
the rest were ready to do this, the archbishop of Canterbury 
swore that he would never affix his seal to that writing nor 
confirm those laws. When the king had seen that he could 
not get on in this way, he had those laws carefully written out 
in duplicate, and he handed one copy to the archbishop, which 
he received, contrary to the prohibition of the whole clergy, 
from the hand of the king himself. Turning to the clergy, he 
said, "Permit it, brothers ; for by this writing we can know the 



148 Readings m E?iglish History 

ill will of the king, and against whom we should be on guard." 
The archbishop then departed from the court ; and in no way 
could he gain the favor of the king. Inasmuch as he had done 
this thing without advice, he absented himself from that hour 
from the celebration of his divine duties until either he himself 
or his messenger should have spoken with the lord pope. 

The following are the most important clauses of that 
collection of the old ecclesiastical laws or constitutions 
which was drawn up at Clarendon, which Thomas at first 
promised, and then refused, to sign. 

94. Extracts In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1164, of the 

from the papacy of Alexander the fourth year, of the most illustrious 

Constitutions J . ^ •'^ , ^ ,. , ^^ tt , , ■ , 

of Clarendon kmg of the English, Henry II, the tenth year, m the presence 

of the same king, has been made this memorial or acknowl- 
edgment of a certain part of the customs and franchises and 
dignities of his predecessors, that is to say of King Henry his 
grandfather, and of other kings, which ought to be observed 
and held in the kingdom. And on account of the discussions 
and disputes which have arisen between the clergy and the 
justices of our lord the king and the barons of the kingdom 
concerning the customs and dignities, this acknowledgment 
is made in the presence of the archbishops and bishops and 
clergy and earls and barons and principal men of the kingdom. 

I. If any controversy has arisen concerning the advowson 
and presentation of churches, between laymen, or between 
laymen and ecclesiastics, or between ecclesiastics, it is to be 
considered or settled in the court of the lord king. 

3. Clergymen charged and accused of anything, when they 
have been summoned by a justice of the* king shall come 
into his court, to respond there to that which it shall seem 
good to the court of the king for them to respond to, and in 
the ecclesiastical court to what it shall seem good should be 
responded to there ; so that the justice of the king shall send 
into the court of holy church to see how the matter shall be 
treated there. And if a clergyman shall have been convicted or 
has confessed, the church ought not to protect him further. 



Foundations of National Unity 1 49 

4. It is not lawful for archbishops, bishops, and clergymen 
of the realm to go out of the realm without the permission of 
the lord king. And if they go out, if it please the lord king, 
they shall give security that neither in going, nor in making a 
stay, nor in returning, will they seek evil or loss to the king or 
the kingdom. 

6. Laymen ought not to be accused except by definite and 
legal accusers and witnesses, in the presence of the bishop, so 
that the archdeacon shall not lose his right, nor anything which 
he ought to have from it. And if there are such persons as are 
suspected, but no one wishes or no one dares to accuse them, 
let the sheriff, when required by the bishop, cause twelve legal 
men of the neighborhood or of the township to take an oath 
in the presence of the bishop that they will show the truth 
about it according to their conscience. 

7. No one who holds from the king in chief or any one 
of the officers of his demesnes shall be excommunicated, nor 
shall the lands of any of them be placed under an interdict, 
unless the lord king, if he is in the land, first agrees, or his jus- 
tice, if he is out of the realm, in order that right may be done 
concerning him. Then what shall pertain to the king's court 
shall be settled there, and that which has respect to the ecclesi- 
astical court shall be sent to the same to be considered there. 

8. Concerning appeals, if they should occur, they ought to 
proceed from the archdeacon to the bishop, from the bishop 
to the archbishop. And if the archbishop should fail to show 
justice, it must come to the lord king last, in order that by his 
command the controversy should be finally terminated in the 
court of the archbishop, so that it ought not to proceed further 
without the assent of the lord king. 

1 1 . Archbishops, bishops, and all clergymen 9f the realm, 
who hold from the king in chief, have their possessions from 
the lord king as a barony, and are responsible for them to the 
justices and officers of the king, and follow and perform all 
royal rules and customs ; and, just as the rest of the barons, 
ought to be present at the judgment of the court of the lord 
king along with the barons, at least till the judgment reaches 
to loss of limbs or to death. 



150 Readings in English History 

12. When an archbishopric or bishopric or abbacy or priory 
of the demesne of the king has become vacant, it ought 
to be in his hands, and he shall take thence all rights and 
products, just as other demesnes. And when it comes to pro- 
viding for the church, the lord king ought to summon the 
more powerful persons of the church, and the election ought 
to be made in the chapel of the lord king himself, with the 
assent of the lord king and with the agreement of the clergy- 
men of the realm whom he has called to do this. And there 
the clergyman elected shall do homage and fealty to the lord 
king as to his liege lord, concerning his life and his limbs 
and his earthly honor, saving his order, before he shall be 
consecrated. 

14. No church or churchyard must detain the chattels of 
those who are in forfeiture to the king, against the justice of 
the king, because they are the king's, whether they have been 
found within the churches or without. 

After the dispute had continued with increasing bit- 
terness for some time and Thomas had refused to accept 
the Constitutions of Clarendon, both parties appealed to 
the pope. The king sent to represent him at Rome five 
bishops who had taken his side, two earls, two barons, 
and three of the officials of his household. The scene 
before the pope, with the speeches of the bishops, one 
of whom brings ridicule upon himself by his excessive 
zeal, another by his bad Latin ; the recognition of the 
high station of the pope and the cardinals, accompanied 
by a low estimate of their personal honesty, and the evi- 
dent preference of the pope for Thomas's side, are all 
well described in the following account, given by one 
of the archbishop's clerks, Alan of Canterbury, who was 
probably present. 

In the meantime there arose much disturbance, each one 
consulting his own best good, and seeking by the will of the 



Foundations of National Unity 1 5 1 

king a chance to destroy the anointed of the Lord [i.e. Thomas]. 95-^An ap-^ 
An embassy was sent from the king to the lord pope, consistmg ^^^^ ^^ 
of the archbishop of York, the bishops of London, Chichester, Rome 
Exeter, Worcester, and Louvain, besides a great number of 
earls and barons, all in great splendor, with gifts and presents 
with which to corrupt the court and blind the eyes of the wise. 
In this way they believed the Roman court, sometimes waver- 
ing between the two, could be influenced to what they wished ; 
for certain of the bishops had given this advice against the 
interests of the archbishop of Canterbury. 

As a matter of fact, on their arrival at Rome, the fear of 
public disturbance which might arise from the anger of the 
king, on one side, and on the other the hope of gain, forced 
very many of the cardinals to waver ; and a dissension arose 
among them. While by some Thomas was called the defender 
of ecclesiastical liberty, and on this account was said to be 
favoring a just cause, by others he was called a disturber of 
peace and unity, and his bold attack therefore to be checked 
rather than encouraged. The suggestion of the enemy pre- 
vailed, for the messengers of the lord of Canterbury (for men 
of extraordinary valor and wisdom had been sent ahead) were 
not received by the cardinals even with a kiss. And they were 
disturbed, seeing the cause of their lord was in jeopardy. 

On the next day, however, the lord pope seated himself at ^V^^^ f^ the 
the tribunal, a meeting of the cardinals was held, and the sub- ^^^^°p^° 
ject was brought up : the messengers of Canterbury attended, 
in order that they might see the result. Then the messengers 
of the king arose, and the bishop of London, their leader, takmg 
his place in front of them, began as follows : " O father, the care 
and protection of the universal church devolves upon you, so 
that the wise may be guided by your wisdom to the advance- 
ment of morals ; and the foolish may be corrected by apostolic 
authority and induced to become wise. But in our opmion 
that man is not to be considered wise who, trusting in his own 
wisdom, seeks to disturb the unity of brethren, the peace of the 
church, and the devotion of the king. 

" Recently, indeed, there arose in England a difference be- 
tween the church and the state on a trivial and unnecessary 



152 Readings in English History 

pretext, which could easily have been avoided if a moderate 
amount of discretion had been shown. But the lord of Canter- 
bury, following his own judgment and not listening at all to 
ours, decided more harshly than was just, not taking into con- 
sideration the evil of the times, what and how great loss might 
come from such an attack ; and he laid pitfalls for himself 
and his brethren. If we had favored this by our assent, the 
thing would have come to a worse pass. But inasmuch as he 
could not have our ready consent, as indeed he ought not, to 
that which he was attempting, he strove to lay the blame for 
his rashness on the lord king and us, — nay, more, on the whole 
kingdom. Wherefore, in order that he might tarnish the repu- 
tation of mutual brotherhood, although no one brought violence 
against him or even made threats, he fled. As it is written, 
' The wicked flee when no man pursueth.' " 

To these things the lord pope said, "Spare, my brother"; 
and the London bishop made answer, " Lord, I will spare him." 
Then the lord pope said, " I do not ask, brother, that you spare 
him but yourself." At this apostolic word the bishop perceived 
that he was being made a jest of by the lord pope, so he was 
unable to speak farther. 
Speech of the Then the eloquent Hilary, the bishop of Chichester, began, 
bishop of trusting more to his brilliant style of speaking than to his jus- 

Chichester . , , . , • 1 • i r 1 

tice or truth ; a thmg which was evident from the outcome. 
" Father and lord," he said, " it is greatly to the interest of your 
holiness, inasmuch as an act has been wrongly committed, to 
the confusion of all the world, to recall it quickly to its usual 
state of peace and concord, so that the unbounded presump- 
tion of one man may not produce disorder and even a division 
in the universal church. The lord of Canterbury, paying too 
Bishop Hilary little attention to this and abandoning safer plans, took counsel 
uses the verb ^^,jj.]^ himself alone, and in this way brought upon himself and 
three times, ^is followers, upon the king and kingdom, upon the clergy and 
once incor- people, greater and more serious dangers. It was not proper, it 
the lau hTt^ was not fitting, nor would it ever be fitting {oportitebat, — for 
his expense such grammar did Hilary of Chichester use), for a man of such 
and the jests authority to act thus. The wise among his followers ought not 
to have agreed that such things were fitting." After he had 



Fo2indatio7is of National Unity 1 5 3 

spoken thus, this man, who was so excellent in grammar, went 
from " port " to " port." All were convulsed with laughter. 
Among these one cried out, " You came unluckily into port 
at last." The Lord so confused the bishop with that word that 
he was silent and speechless for the rest of the time. 

The archbishop of York, seeing the downfall of those who 
had preceded him, tried to curb his impetuosity. " Father," 
said he, " the habits of that lord of Canterbury and his desires 
are known to no one better than to me. This is characteristic 
of his mind, that when a new proposition is shown him and he 
has thoroughly approved it, it cannot be easily torn from him. 
Wherefore it ought to be believed that he fell into this obsti- 
nacy through his customary rashness. And I see no other way 
to correct this except that you lay upon him a restraining hand. 
I think this is sufficient to say to an intelligent man." 

Then the bishop of Exeter spoke : " Father, it is not neces- 
sary to delay long on this subject. This cause does not have 
to be terminated in the absence of the archbishop of Canter- 
bury. We beg, therefore, that you send legates who shall be 
able to hear the cause between the lord king and the arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, and when they have heard to give a 
decision." Then he was silent. After him no more of the 
bishops spoke. 

When the earl of Arundel saw this (for he was standing in The bishops 
his place with a nurnber of knights) he demanded an audience. Latin^°u?e '" 
When there was silence he began: "Lord, what the bishops earl of 
have said, we who are uneducated do not know. Therefore it Arundel 
is necessary that we who have been sent on this errand should ^°ders"tand 
speak as we can ; not that we should contend for this, or heap them, and 
reproaches upon any one, especially in the presence of so great makes his 

, .,, -1 , • , 11 ij • ^1 u speech, doubt- 

a man, to whose will and authority the whole world justly bows ; jg^g^ j^ 
but we come hither, laying doubt aside, that we may show to French 
you in your presence and in the presence of the whole Roman 
court the loyalty and love of the lord king, which he has been 
accustomed to bear to you and which he still bears. Through 
whom, do I say ? Through the clergy and nobles whom he has 
in all the lands subject to him ; that is, through the archbishops, 
bishops, earls, and barons. He has not found any superior to 



1 54 Readings in English History 

these in his dominions ; and if he had found them, he would 
have without fail appointed them on account of your reverence 
and that of the Holy Roman church. We add to this the fact 
that your fatherly zeal, shortly after he became king, often 
tested his fidelity and devotion, when he placed at your dis- 
posal himself, his followers, his possessions, all of which were 
thoroughly devoted to your will ; and certainly in the whole 
universal church over which you preside in Christ, as we be- 
lieve, no one is more faithful than he, no one more devoted to 
God, no one more desirous of keeping this peace into which 
he has been received. Nevertheless the archbishop is equally 
well versed in his rank and order, provident and determined 
in those things which pertain to him, although, as it seems to 
certain men, a little too severe. If that struggle which is now 
taking place had not arisen between the lord archbishop and 
the king, the clergy and the kingdom would now be rejoicing 
mutually in peace and unity under an excellent leader and the 
best of shepherds. Therefore this is our prayer, that your grace 
should bestow all your care and attention on the removal of 
this disagreement and the restitution of peace and love." The 
earl spoke these words fluently in his own language, so that his 
modest discretion was admired by all. 
Answer of The lord pope, after thinking the matter over carefully, made 
the pope answer as follows : " We know, O son and earl, and still cherish 
in memory with what great devotion the king of England has 
conferred many great favors upon us, which, if opportunity 
arise, we shall, in our love for his soul, requite in proportion to 
his deserts, with as much power as we have with God. But in- 
asmuch as you have demanded legates, legates you shall have." 
After kissing the foot of the lord pope they retired, think- 
ing that they had gained much for their cause, all the more so 
because they hoped that they could bribe the cardinals. In 
accordance with this plan the bishop of London returned to 
ask the lord pope under what power the cardinals would come. 
"With proper power," said the lord pope. "Then," said the 
bishop of London, " we beg this, that they may decide the case 
without appeal." "This is," said the lord pope, "my especial 
right, which I shall not grant to another, and assuredly, since he 



Foundations of National Unity 155 

must be judged, he will be judged by us, because no method 
of procedure permits us to send him to England to be judged 
by adversaries and among enemies." The hostile party, hearing 
these things, angrily withdrew, with shattered hopes, to carry 
back these replies to the lord king. 

The quarrel continued to its well-known termination, — 
the hasty words of the angry king, the too literal accept- 
ance of them by his four knights, their journey to Can- 
terbury, and the murder of the archbishop in the transept 
of his own cathedral. The incidents of the murder are 
given by Edward Grim, one of the archbishop's attend- 
ants, who was with him at the time, and holding Thomas 
in his arms as he died, was accidentally wounded. The 
skull of the martyr was long afterwards found with a 
long straight sword cut across the top. 

When the monks entered the church the four knights fob 96. Account 
lowed immediately behind with rapid strides. With them was of the murder 
a certain subdeacon, armed with malice like their own, Hugh, (imo) 
fitly surnamed for his wickedness, Mauclerc, who showed no 
reverence for God or the saints, as the result showed. When 
the holy archbishop entered the church the monks stopped 
vespers which they had begun and ran to him, glorifying God 
that they saw their father, whom they had heard was dead, 
alive and safe. They hastened, by bolting the doors of the 
church, to protect their shepherd from the slaughter. But the 
champion, turning to them, ordered the church doors to.be 
thrown open, saying : " It is not meet to make a fortress of 
the house of prayer, the church of Christ : though it be not 
shut up it is able to protect its own ; and we shall triumph 
over the enemy rather in suffering than in fighting, for we 
came to suffer, not to resist." And straightway they entered the 
house of peace and reconciliation with swords sacrilegiously 
drawn, causing horror to the beholders by their very looks and 
the clanging of their arms. 



156 Ki-ii</ifi^'-s in EnglisJi History 

All who were i)resent were in tumult aiul fright, for those 
who had been singing vespers now ran hither tt) the tlreadful 
spectacle. 
Thomas re- Inspired by fury the knights called out, " Where is Thomas 
fuses to be Beeket, traitor to the king and reahn? " As he answered not, 
traitor' t^^*^)' Cried out the more furiously, " Where is the archbishop? " 
At this, intrepid and fearless (as it is written, " The just, like 
a bold lion, shall be without fear"), he descended from the 
stair where he had been dragged by the monks in fear of the 
knights, and in a clear voice answered : " I am here, no traitor 
to the king, but a priest. Why do ye seek me? " And whereas 
he had already said that he feared them not, he added, " So 
1 am ready to suflfer in His name, who redeemed me by His 
blood ; be it far from me to flee from your swords or to dejiart 
from justice." Having thus said, he turned to the right, under 
a pillar, having on one side the altar of the Blessed Mother of 
God and ever Virgin Mary, on the other that of St. Benedict 
the Confessor, by whose example and prayers, having cruci- 
fied the world with its lusts, he bore all that the murderers 
could do, with such constancy of soul as if he had been no 
longer in the flesh. 

The murderers followed him. "Absolve," they cried, "and 
restore to communion those whom you hJive excommunicated, 
and restore their powers to those whom you have susjiended." 
He answered, "There has been no satisfaction, and I will not 
absolve them." "Then you shall die," they cried, "and re- 
ceive what you deserve." " I am ready," he replied, " to die 
for my Lord, that in my blood the church may obtain liberty 
and peace. But in the name of Almighty God I forbid you 
to hurt my people, whether clerk or lay." Thus piously and 
thoughtfully did the noble martyr provide that no one near 
him should be hurt or the innocent be brought to death, 
whereby his glory should be dimmed as he hastened to Christ. 
Thus did it become the martyr knight to follow in the foot- 
steps of his Captain and Saviour, who, when the wicked sought 
Him, said, " If ye seek me, let these go their way." 

Then they laid sacrilegious hands on him, pulling and drag- 
ging him that they might kill him outside the church, or carry 



I 



FotmdatioHS of National Unity 157 

him away a prisoner, as they afterwards confessed. But when His rebuke to 
he would not be forced away from the pillar, one of them ?!.^^'"t''^ 

. Fitz-Urse 

pressed on him and clung to him more closely. Him he pjushed 
off, calling him "pander," and saying, "Touch me not, Regi- 
nald ; you owe me fealty and subjection ; you and your accom- 
plices act like madmen." The knight, fired with terrible rage 
at this severe rebuke, waved his sword over the sacred head. 
"No faith," he cried, "nor subjection do I owe you against 
my fealty to my lord the king." Then the unconquered martyr, 
seeing the hour at hand which should put an end to this miser- 
able life, and give him straightway the crown of immortality 
promised by the Lord, inclined his head as one who prays, and, 
joining his hands, lifted them up and commended his cause 
and that of the church to God, to St. Mary, and to the blessed 
martyr Denys. Scarce had he said the words when the wicked 
knight, fearing lest the archbishop should be rescued by the 
people and escape alive, leapt upon him suddenly and wounded 
this lamb who was sacrificed to God, on the head, cutting off 
the top of the crown which the sacred unction of the chrism 
had dedicated to (iod ; and by the same blow he wounded the Wounding of 
arm of him who tells this. For he, when the others, both monks Edward Onm, 

1 11-1 1111 t"^ chronicler 

and clerks, fled, stuck close to the samted archbishop and held 
him in his arms till the arm he interposed was almost severed. 

Behold the simplicity of the dove, the wisdom of the ser- Death of 
pent, in the martyr who opposed his body to those who struck, ^^^^^^ 
that he might preserve his head, that is, his soul and the church, 
unharmed ; nor would he use any forethought against those 
who destroyed the body whereby he might escape. O worthy 
shepherd, who gave himself so boldly to the wolves that his 
flock might not be torn. Because he had rejected the world, 
the world in wishing to crush him unknowingly exalted him. 
I'hen he received a second blow on the head, but still stood 
firm. At the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows, offer- 
ing himself a living victim, and saying in a low voice, " For 
the name of Jesus and the protection of the church I am ready 
to embrace death." Then the third knight inflicted a terrible 
wound as he lay, by which the sword was broken against the 
pavement, and the crown, which was large, was separated from 



158 Readings in English History 

the head ; so that the blood white with the brain, and the brain 
red with blood, dyed the surface of the virgin mother church 
with the life and death of the confessor and martyr in the 
colors of the lily and the rose. 

The fourth knight prevented any from interfering, so that 
the others might freely perpetrate the murder. In order that 
a fifth blow might not be wanting to the martyr who was in 
other things like to Christ, the fifth (no knight, but that clerk 
who had entered with the knights) put his foot on the neck of 
the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to say, scat- 
tered his brains and blood over the pavement, calling out to 
the others, " Let us away, knights ; he will rise no more." 

The murder of the archbishop brought the struggle to 
a crisis, and the king either was smitten with remorse 
or bowed to the storm. The scene of his self-humiliation 
and penance is given in the following extract from Ralph 
of Diceto, a contemporary chronicler. 

97. The When he had come near Canterbury, concealing his royal 

penance of identity, he leaped from his horse, barefooted, assuming the 
King Henry ^ .... , . ^ °. , 

(1172) appearance of a pilgrim, a penitent, a suppliant. On I'riday, 

the tenth of June, he came to the great church. There, with 
many tears, groans, and sighs, he sought the tomb of the blessed 
martyr. With outstretched hands he prostrated himself, re- 
maining for a long time in prayer. By means of the bishop of 
London preaching to the people, the king publicly protested, 
calling God as a witness to his soul, that he had never ordered 
the death of the archbishop, nor desired it, nor sought it by 
craft. But since the murderers had taken license from words 
which he had spoken with too little caution, he begged absolu- 
tion from the bishops who were then present. Placing himself 
under their discipline, he was beaten with rods by the various 
religious men, of whom a great number had assembled, receiv- 
ing three or even five blows from each one. Rising from prayer, 
he resumed the clothing which he had taken off. He honored 
the most precious martyr with costly gifts, giving besides an 



Fotmdattons of National Unity 159 

annual payment of ^40 for lights to be kept perpetually burn- 
ing about the martyr in his honor. He spent the rest of the 
day and almost all of the following night in anguish of soul, 
given up to prayers and watches, continuing the fast even into 
the third day. Inasmuch as his spirit was troubled and his 
heart contrite, his sacrifice was most acceptable to God. Often 
exclaiming, after the manner of King David, " I have sinned 
against God, I have sinned against God," he deserved to hear 
from the prophet, "The Lord also has put away thy sin." 

A fevir months after the death of Thomas he was 
canonized, as described in the following official letter of 
the pope, and he soon became the most popular of Eng- 
lish saints. Pilgrimages were made to the tomb at Can- 
terbury, water blessed at the place of his death was 
carried away for its curative qualities, and numberless 
stories of miracles due to his interposition grew up and 
were spread abroad and believed by the more simple- 
minded of the people. 

Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his 98. Pope 
dearest sons, Albert, titular bishop of St. Lawrence, and Alexander 
Theodwine of St. Vitalis, cardinal priests, legates of the apos- legates in 
folic see, greeting and apostolic benediction. Although some England 
of the miracles of that holy man Thomas, formerly archbishop 
of Canterbury, had been brought to our ears by many in whom 
we were accustomed and ought to have faith, nevertheless we 
have awaited your testimony in order that we might be able to 
proceed more freely in canonizing him, when we should have 
been fully informed by you of the miracles of that holy man. 
And so since the testimony of your letters was received, just 
at the beginning of the fast, when a large number of priests 
were standing in the church, we have solemnly canonized that 
holy man, and formally decreed that he is to be enrolled in 
the glorious body of martyrs. Since, therefore, we have directed Henry II and 
that these things be written not only to the English church but ^^ ^°"' *^'"S 
also to the kings themselves, we order you with discretion to 



i6o 



Readings in English History 



99. Miracles 



An angel 
guardian of 
Thomas's 
church 



give over these writings to these same kings yourself, in person, 
if possible, and see that the writings which we have directed 
to the monks of Canterbury and the English church be dis- 
tributed to them. Dated at Segni, March tenth. 

A few of the many scores of stories concerning St. 
Thomas that have come down from that period are here 
given. 

Three days after the suffering of the glorious martyr Thomas, 
of St. Thomas Honorius, a monk of Canterbury, a man of veracity, in his sleep 
saw himself entering the monastery. And behold, before the 
altar of the Lord our Saviour a youth of beautiful glowing ap- 
pearance stood with unsheathed sword. When Honorius ap- 
proached nearer and with timid voice said, " Who are you, 
master? It is not fitting for an armed man to be seen in this 
holy and religious place in this way," he replied, " Do not fear ; 
the custody of this place has been appointed to me, who was 
given the belt of a knight on the day that Thomas was pro- 
moted to the archbishopric to rule the church." 

Seven days had passed since the death of the martyr. A cer- 
tain freeborn woman, wife of one Ralph, a man of honor ac- 
cording to this world, was resting on her bed at home. This 
woman, hearing of the death of the martyr, began to be some- 
what sad, mourning as a good sheep for the death of a kind 
shepherd, for the dishonor to the church and the wickedness 
of the crime. Because of this sorrow she obtained the honor 
of seeing a vision in her sleep. On entering her place of prayer 
she found a man standing before the altar, wearing a hood and 
clad in white, as though he were performing the divine service. 
When he saw her he seated himself near the southern part of 
the room, nodding familiarly to her as if seeking to ask that she 
draw nearer. She asked what she could do to gain salvation for 
her soul. He replied, " Every week the sixth day must be ob- 
served as a fast day by you, and when you have passed a year 
in this way come to me." Then he added, " Do you know who 
it is with whom you are conversing? " " You are the one," she 
answered, " whom those four wicked men presumed to murder 
with such insolent boldness." 



The vision of 
the grieving 
woman 



Foundations of National Unity i6i 

A rich man named Ralph, of the town of Nottingham, de- The rich man 
tained some few sheep of a poor woman. This latter begged ^nd the poor 

'■ ^ "" woman s 

to be permitted to buy them back, saying, " Grant this kind- sheep 
ness, I beg, my master, to your handmaid, that 1 may receive 
my sheep as the others, provided I pay eight pieces of silver 
for each one." He refused, since he wished to transfer to his 
own possession those sheep which she owned. Hear what hap- 
pened, in order that you may not be enticed to become rich 
from the goods of another. He was riding along seated on his 
pacer, snapping a switch which he was carrying in his hand. 
The woman pressed him that she might have the property 
Avhich was really hers by paying therefor. " Do not hinder my 
journey, my master," said she ; " I have planned to go to the 
holy martyr Thomas ; I have destined the wool of my sheep 
to pay my expenses on the way. Show mercy to me, that the 
martyr may do the same to you." Hearing this he looked 
down at her, calling out in terrible tones, " Depart, you low 
and worthless slave, I shall do nothing for you." She kept 
urging him, adding prayers to her money ; but seeing that she 
gained nothing either from prayers or money, she ended with 
a curse. " May the curse of God and of the martyr Thomas fall 
on this man who has offered violence to me concerning my own 
property." At this word the rich man, struck by the divine 
hand, fell heavily forward on the pommel of his saddle, where, 
groaning, he moaned, " I die " ; for the blow had stopped his 
breath. 

Thanks be to God, he glorifies his martyr Thomas every- The little 
where. In Normandy there was a little girl, Hawisia, daughter Norman girl 

■. r /". 1 1 1 who was 

of a peasant of the village of Grochet, who, as she was wander- drowned 
ing along in her thoughtless childish way, fell into a pond. She 
was only two years and three months old. When she was not 
found by her mother the next day or the day following that, she 
was sought for and found in the pool. The mother, crying out, 
ran to her, while the father hastened to her all dripping as she 
was, and, seizing her, held her by the feet. The neighbors came 
running up and she was pronounced dead. But at the advice of 
a priest she was dedicated to the holy martyr Thomas, and 
life was restored the instant the vow was made. 



l62 



Readings in English History 



The young 
monk with 
leprosy 



A shipwreck 
on the Med- 
iterranean 



The venerable queen Eleanor, finding a little boy who had 
been cast out into the streets and deprived of a mother's love, 
ordered that he be brought up in the monastery of Abingdon. 
After living there many years and learning much, he was seized 
"with a virulent form of leprosy, separated from the other 
scholars, and removed from the monastery at the command of 
the bishop, Geoffrey of St. Asaph, who was in charge there. 
His face became blotched, from his eyes streamed water, his 
eyebrows thinned out, sores covered his arms and limbs, reach- 
ing to the bone ; all these things produced nausea. His voice 
became rough and almost inaudible, even to those standing 
near ; cloths had to be changed every day or every other day 
on account of the bloody matter which came from the sores. 
These things kept him from dwelling with others or holding 
any social intercourse with them. 

But this youth, trusting in the mercy and merits of the 
blessed Thomas, whom heavenly love glorified in all ways, 
departed to Canterbury, and even on the journey felt the be- 
ginning of his cure within. Returning home, after two days, 
from the tomb of St. Thomas, he brought with him merely 
traces of his healed disease. One day he seized the bishop by 
his clothing as he was taking a walk, and said to him that he 
had been cleansed through the merits of St. Thomas of Can- 
terbury. The bishop, however, did not know him, so changed 
was he, and asked his name and position. He told his name, 
and by the same reply indicated his position, at the same time 
rendering speechless the man whom he was addressing. The 
bishop carefully considered the case and thought over the 
length of the disease, which had been running for two years. 
Nevertheless, after physicians had been consulted, he could no 
longer refuse to believe them, assuring him of the cure, nor 
could he refuse longer to believe the evidence of his own eyes, 
so he finally recalled this man to the life of the monastery and 
the daily intercourse. And he himself came to pray at the tomb 
of the martyr with the healed man. 

Certain pilgrims were voyaging on the Mediterranean Sea 
when their vessel struck on a rock and began to be in danger. 
The danger was of this kind : the stern and keel stuck fast on 



Foundations of National Ufiity 163 

the rocks, while the prow, hanging dowTi, touched the waters 
near by. The canvas had been torn from the mast, and, satu- 
rated with water, was pulling on the sailyard so that the mast 
would be dragged into the water. Certain of the sailors were 
climbing on the rigging, others anxious over their sins were 
offering vows, and all were calling on the name of the martyr 
Thomas. Then a clearly manifest and wonderful sign was 
given : the ship rose at the prow and settled at the stern, so 
that no one doubted but that the martyr had placed his hand 
under the prow. 

A certain German pilgrim who had devoted himself to the A German 
service of this martyr, while on his way to Jerusalem to offer pi's^'™ 
up prayers, became ill and died, while on a vessel on the 
Mediterranean Sea. The sailors, in accordance with their cus- 
tom, cast him into the sea on the same day, stripped of his 
clothing. The ship, borne on, continued on the journey which. 
it had begun. The thing which I am about to relate is wonder- 
ful, yet I am not stretching the truth. Late in the night, be- 
hold, the man who had been cast overboard rose above the 
waters and entered the ship from the stern. The helmsman of 
the ship, who was seated near the stern, watching the winds and 
stars, was much astonished at this apparition, and asked whether 
he were propitious or otherwise, to which he replied : " I am 
the dead man whom you cast into the sea ; the blessed Thomas 
has restored me to life and to this vessel. Restore to me the 
place which I hired and my clothes, for I am very cold." All 
were filled with astonishment and delight over this thing which 
had happened. This occurrence, received from the helmsman 
himself, was reported to us by a clerk of Canterbury. A certain 
man of Brindisi, a fellow-citizen and neighbor of the helmsman 
of this boat, told us the same thing in the same way. 

A woman by the name of Beatrice lived in the coast regions a poor 
near where the marsh separates Kent and Sussex. When she soman's cow 
saw that a pestilence was carrying off the cattle, and by this 
sudden outbreak the pastures were being stripped of their 
flocks, she made a vow, saying, " Preserve, O martyr, this one 
cow of mine, that it be not carried off by this pestilence. I 



164 Readings in English History 

promise you its calf or the value thereof." She prayed and 
her prayer was answered, for although the rest of the animals 
were carried off, the murrain did not touch her property. 



III. GiRALDUS CaMBRENSIS AND THE CONQUEST 

OF Ireland 

A glimpse of the literary life and interests so con- 
spicuous during the reign of Henry II may be obtained 
from the following extracts from the autobiography of 
Gerald de Barri, or Giraldus Cambrensis, who has been 
quoted before. Giraldus was a Welsh monk born about 
1 147, who studied in various universities, especially in 
Paris, as he himself recounts. He attached himself to 
Henry's court, but was much disappointed at not being 
made a bishop or otherwise suitably rewarded. He was 
almost childishly vain, though he speaks of himself in his 
autobiography and in some of his other works in the third 
person. He was much inclined to criticise the monks of 
his own order for their various irregularities. 

100. Extracts Giraldus was born in the southern part of Wales near the sea- 
from the au- coast of Dyved, not far from the principal town of Pembroke, 
of Giraldus ^he castle of Mainarpir. He sprang from freeborn parents ; 
Cambrensis for his mother was Angarath, daughter of Nesta, the noble 
daughter of Rhys, chieftain of South Wales, and a son of Theo- 
dore, She married a most excellent man, William de Barri, 
and from this marriage Giraldus was born. He was the youngest 
of four brothers. When the three others were busy in their 
childish pleasures, building in the sand and gravel now camps, 
now towns, now palaces, he, in his own fashion, alone in his 
play, devoted his entire energy to the construction of churches 
or monasteries. After his father, watching him, had considered 
this with admiration, influenced as if by inspiration, he deter- 
mined with prophetic soul that this son must devote himself 



Foundations of National Unity 165 

to literature and the liberal arts. He was accustomed to call 
him, playfully, his bishop. ... 

In the process of time a desire for higher study and prog- oiraldus 
ress led him to cross over three times to France. For three studies in the 
periods of several years he studied the liberal arts in Paris, J^^^^^l ^ 
and at length, equaling the greatest teachers, excellently taught 
the trivium and obtained especial praise for his rhetorical 
ability. He was thoroughly devoted to his studies, showing no 
levity or jesting in deed or in spirit, so much so that when the 
doctors of arts wished to give an example of the good scholar, 
they mentioned Giraldus above all others. So, as he was worthy 
to give an example of all scholarly excellence and preeminence 
in early childhood, since his good deeds continued, he could do 
so in youth as well. . . . 

After arrangements had been completed, Giraldus, since he 
believed nothing finished as long as anything higher remained, 
looking not back but ever striving towards the future, ascended 
step by step without cessation. Since the treasures of books 
were greater abroad, he determined to cross over to France 
for higher and more mature study, and in Paris to apply himself 
diligently anew to his choicer studies. He was to erect on the 
foundation of arts and letters the walls of canon law, and to 
finish the sacred roof of theology above. Thus a building of 
triple structure connected by the firmest of joints would be 
strong in lasting qualities. When for many years he had applied 
his studious mind to civil law, then at length had turned it to 
more sacred heights, he obtained so great influence in cases of 
canon law, which by established custom were discussed on Sun- 
days, that on the day on which it was known that such ques- 
tions were to be debated, so great a throng of almost all of 
the doctors with their scholars came forth for the pleasure of 
hearing him, that scarcely was there a house large enough to 
hold the audience. For so much did he aid the reasonings 
of canon law by his rhetorical skill, so much did he adorn 
the cause, as well by his figures of speech and brilliant style as 
by depth of thought, and so well did he adapt the sayings of 
philosophers and authors, with wondrous skill fitting them in 
proper places, that just as the more learned and skilled agreed 



1 66 Readings in English History 

with him, so much the more eagerly and attentively they applied 
their minds and thoughts to listen and commit to memory. . . . 
Giraldus is Let US now return to our own affairs and likewise to the 

m debt continuation of the narrative. Giraldus, after a long period of 

study, determined to return to his fatherland. He waited for 
his messengers to bring him money until long after the date 
set for their return. Meanwhile his creditors, to whom he 
was greatly in debt, kept pressing him impatiently and rudely 
from day to day. Grieving, anxious, and almost desperate he 
went to the chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury and St. Ger- 
main d'Auxerre, founded and dedicated by the archbishop 
of Rheims, brother of King Louis. To this chapel, founded 
in honor of that saint at the time of his martyrdom, Giraldus 
fled for refuge, with his friends, to beg and implore the aid 
of the martyr, knowing indeed, as the philosopher Philo says, 
that when human aid fails then we must hasten to divine. 
When the mass had been piously heard and an offering pre- 
sented, a reward for his piety was divinely given, for he 
received in the same hour his messenger with joy and pros- 
perity. It was indeed a wonderful interposition of God, who 
gains in his own way from human affairs his holy results, and 
although he knows that his things are given purely from love, 
nevertheless wishes them to be gained, as it were, by prayers 
and deeds. . . . 

Proceeding on his way, he crossed the sea through Flanders 
and came to Canterbury. Sought out by the prior on Trinity 
Sunday he dined with the monks of this place in the refec- 
tory. When seated there with the prior and elders at the prin- 
cipal table, he noticed two things, an excess of signals and too 
many courses at the meal. Communication kept going on be- 
lt was against tween the prior and the monks who were serving ; the latter, 
the rules of q^ ^j^g Q,-,g h^nd, in bringing in the food, and the former, on 
talk during the Other hand, to whom it was brought, by way of thanks, kept 
meals up a gesticulation with fingers, hands, and arms, as well as a 

whistling in place of speech, rendering the entire situation far 
more sportive and undignified than was fitting. It was just as 
if one were placed before players or mountebanks. It would 
be much more consistent with the rule and with propriety 



Foundations of National Unity 167 

to speak with moderation in human words than by silent gar- 
ruhty to make use of signs and whistHng after this fashion. 

What shall I say about the dishes and their abundance? I 
might mention that sixteen or more courses were served up 
very lavishly, in order, and even I might say beyond order. 
Finally between courses vegetables were brought about to all 
the tables, but were little tasted. One saw fish of all kinds, 
boiled and roasted, stuffed and fried. Food prepared by the 
skill of the cook with eggs and pepper ; many relishes and 
salted fish, for tempting the tooth and whetting the appetite, 
were made by his skill. Besides, there was a great abundance 
of wines and intoxicating drinks, colored and clear, unfermented 
liquor, mead, and other drinks. So much were these drinks used 
that ale, even the best, such as is brewed in England, espe- 
cially in Kent, found no place here. Ale, however, was served 
between the courses of the other liquors, as vegetables between 
the courses of more solid food. 

One sees here, in short, much that is unnecessary and ex- 
travagant both in food and drink, which must be considered 
not only a luxury to those partaking of them, but a vexation 
to those looking on. What would Paul the hermit say to such 
things? What would Anthony? What would Benedict, the 
author and founder of the monastic life? Let us seek exam- 
ples even farther removed. What would our Jerome, who, in his 
Lives of the Fathers, extolled with praises the thrift, restraint, 
and moderation of the early church? Among other things he 
says that the church in proportion as it increased in possessions 
had decreased in virtue. 

Giraldus, indeed, told one time how the monks of St. Swithin This was 
at Winchester, together with their prior, prostrated themselves evidently 
on the ground before Henry II, complaining with tears and another 
grief that Richard, their bishop, whom they had in the place of author at a 
an abbot, had taken away from them three courses. When the .'^ *""^ 
king had inquired how many remained, they replied ten, whereas 
from early times they had been accustomed to enjoy thirteen. 
" And I," answered the king, " in my court am contented with 
three. And may your bishop perish unless he reduces your 
meals to this number of courses." 



1 68 



Readings in English History 



loi. Some 
current 
stories about 
Ireland 



Barnacle 
geese 



No snakes in 
Ireland 



Among the works of this author is a description of 
Ireland and an account of the conquest of that country 
by Henry II and the Enghsh-Norman nobles of the time. 
Some of his descriptions and wonderful tales are here 
given. 

Ireland is a land of irregular, even mountainous, surface ; 
mild and wet, wooded and swampy. In fact, it is almost a 
wilderness ; quite pathless, though especially well watered. You 
will find here waters standing on the mountains ; on the very 
tops of wind-blown and rugged hills you can find swamps and 
marshes. Yet Ireland has here and there beautiful plains, but 
small in comparison with the forests, and therefore, by the 
requirements of nature, beautiful rather than spacious. 

This country has been divided from of old into five almost 
equal parts, that is to say, two Munsters, northern and southern, 
Leinster, Ulster, and Connaught. The two Munsters cover the 
southern part of Ireland, Ulster the northern, Leinster the east- 
ern, and Connaught the western. . . . 

There are here many birds which are called barnacles, which 
nature produces in a wonderful manner, and, as it were, against 
nature. They are similar to marsh geese, but smaller. For they 
grow from spruce logs, carried down to the sea. At first they 
are like drops of gum ; afterwards, like seaweed clinging to 
the log, inclosed for their freer growth in a covering of shell, 
they hang down by the beak. In the course of time, being 
covered closely with a vesture of feathers, they either drop 
down into the water, or, by flying away, betake themselves to 
the hberty of the air. . , . 

Of all kinds of reptiles Ireland possesses only such as are 
not injurious, for it is entirely without those which are poison- 
ous. It is free from snakes and lizards, it has neither toads nor 
frogs, it lacks turtles and scorpions, nor has it any dragons. 
It has, however, spiders, salamanders, and chameleons ; but 
these are harmless. Some, by a flattering pretense, declare 
that St. Patrick and other saints of the country purged the 
whole island from all such destructive beasts. But history 
asserts with greater probability that from the very earliest 



Foundations of National Unity 169 

times, long before the foundations of our faith, the island was 
always without these, as it was without some other things, by 
a certain natural defect. 

Nor does it seem to me a matter of wonder that the land 
should lack these reptiles, as it lacks certain fish, birds, and 
animals. But what does seem strange is that it cannot and 
never could retain anything poisonous when brought thither. 
For we read in the ancient writings of the saints of that country, 
that sometimes, for the sake of experiment, reptiles were brought 
thither in brass jars, but as soon as they had passed the middle 
of the Irish Sea they were found lifeless and dead. . . . 

To so great a degree is this land antagonistic to poison that if 
gardens or other places in other countries are sprinkled with its 
soil, this drives all poisonous reptiles completely away from them. 

Among the contemporary accounts of the conquest of 
Ireland is a long narrative poem in French, from which 
the following is taken, in the form of a modern transla- 
tion. The poem is commonly known as Tlie Story of 
Dermot and the Earl. 

When Henry II had been acknowledged as lord by all 
the barons who had come over from England before him, he 
proceeded to make grants to them of the land they had 
conquered in Ireland, to be held from him on feudal tenure. 

To Hugh de Lacy he granted 102. Grants 

All Meath in fee ; of King 

Meath the king granted EnTsh^con- 

For fifty knights, querors in 

Whose service the baron should let him have, Ireland 

Whenever he should have need of it. 

To one John he granted Ulster, 

If he could conquer it by force : 

John de Courcj was his name, 

Who afterwards suffered many a trouble there. 

Just as the king made these great grants to his nobles, 
so Earl Richard, Hugh de Lacy, John de Courcy, and 



I/O 



Readings in English. History 



Sub-infeuda- 
tions to Eng- 
lish nobles 
and knights 



The chiefs of 
the Irish 
clans 



the Other great barons granted parts of their dominions 
to lesser nobles for feudal services to themselves. 

To Maurice de Prendergast 

The valiant earl Richard 

Had already given Fernegenal, 

And in his council confirmed it, 

Before the renowned earl 

Had landed in Ireland ; 

Ten fiefs he gave him on this condition, 

For the service of ten knights. 

Carbery he gave to the good Meiler, 

Who was such a noble lord. 

The earl Richard next gave 

To Maurice the son of Gerald, 

The Naas the good earl gave 

To the son of Gerald, with all the honor : 

This is the land of Offelan 

Which belonged to the traitor MacKelan. 

He gave him, too, Wicklow, 

Between Bray and Arklow : 

[The Irish chieftains, although many of them had given their 
allegiance to King Henry, were not inclined to allow their 
whole land to be divided among English-Norman overlords 
without a struggle. When Hugh de Lacy built and fortified a 
dwelling house at Trim in Connaught, and began to rule the 
surrounding country as an English feudal noble did at home, 
the king of Connaught called out the heads of the tribes, and 
they led their followers in one of those wild efforts to drive 
out the invaders that continued to take place from time to 
time for more than five hundred years.] 

All at once O'Connor, 
The proud king of Connaught, 
Led with him O'Flaherty, 
MacDermot and MacGeraghty, 
O'Kelly, king of Hy Many, 



Foiindations of National Unity 171 

O'Hart and O'Finaghty, 

O'Carbery and O' Flanagan, 

And then next O'Monaghan, 

O'Dowd and O'Monaghan, 

O'Shaughnessy of Poltilethban ; 

King Melaghhn went also. 

And his neighbor king O'Rourke, 

O'Malory of the Kinel O'Neill, 

And likewise MacDunlevy ; 

King O'Carroll went also, 

And MacTierney, who was so base, 

MacScelling and MacArtan, 

And the rebel MacGaraghan ; 

MacKelan likewise 

Went with all his men ; 

O'Neill, the king of Kinel Owen, 

Brought with him three thousand Irish. 

The Northerners were assembled, 

And all the kings of Leath-Cuinn, 

Towards Trim they set out marching 

To demolish the castle. 



IV. Richard I and the Third Crusade 

The guilt of rebellion of Henry's sons, and their respon- 
sibility for his death, is well expressed in this instance 
of the familiar belief that the body of a murdered man 
will bleed when his murderer approaches. 

Henry, king of England, died in the year of our Lord 1189, 103. Scene at 
in the month of July, on the sixth day, in the octave of the *^^ bunai of 
apostles Peter and Paul, the nineteenth day of the moon, on 
the fifth day of the week, at Chinon, and he was buried at 
Fontevrault, in the abbey of the monks serving God there. 
On the day after his death, when he was carried to his burial, 
clothed in his royal apparel, wearing a gold crown on his head, 
and having gloves on his hands and a gold ring on his finger, 



1/2 



Readings in English History 



104. A con- 
temporary 
description 
of Richard 
Cceur de 
Lion 



a scepter in his hand, shoes embroidered in gold upon his feet, 
and girded with his sword, he lay with his face uncovered. 
When this was told to Count Richard, his son, he came hasten- 
ing to meet him. But as he stood bending over him, immedi- 
ately blood ran from the nostrils of the dead king, as if his 
spirit was indignant at his coming. Then the aforesaid count, 
weeping and moaning, proceeded with the corpse of his father 
to Fontevrault, and there caused it to be buried. 

The admiration for the person and character of Richard, 
which has lasted, however undeserved, through all subse- 
quent times, began in his own lifetime, and is reflected by 
all his early biographers ; for example, in the following 
extract from the contemporary account known as the 
Itinerary of King Richard. 

The Lord of the ages had given him such generosity of 
soul and endued him with such virtues that he seemed rather 
to belong to earlier times than these. . . . His was the valor of 
Hector, the magnanimity of Achilles ; he was no whit inferior 
to Alexander, or less than Roland in manhood. Of a truth he 
easily surpassed the more praiseworthy characters of our time 
in many ways. His right hand, like that of a second Titus, 
scattered riches. Moreover — a thing that is, as a rule, but very 
rarely found in so famous a knight — the tongue of a Nestor 
and the prudence of a Ulysses (as they well might) rendered 
him better than other men in all kinds of business, whether 
eloquence or action was required. His military knowledge did 
not slacken his inclination for vigorous action ; nor did his 
readiness for action ever throw a doubt upon his military pru- 
dence. If any one chances to think him open to the charge 
of rashness, the answer is simple ; for, in this respect, a mind 
that does not know how to submit itself, a mind impatient of 
injury, urged on by its inborn high spirit to demand its lawful 
rights, may well claim excuse. Success made him all the better 
suited for accomplishing exploits, since fortune helps the brave. 
And though fortune wreaks her spleen on whomsoever she 
pleases, yet he was not to be drowned, for all her adverse waves. 



Foundations of National Unity 173 

He was lofty in stature, of a shapely build, with hair half- 
way between red and yellow. His limbs were straight and 
flexible, his arms somewhat long, and for this very reason 
better fitted than those of most folk to draw or wield the 
sword. Moreover he had long legs, matching the character 
of his whole frame. His features showed the ruler, while his 
manners and his bearing added not a little to his general 
presence. 

So much o'f Richard's career gathers around the Third 
Crusade that the remaining selections are drawn from 
that episode in his life. 

Meanwhile the king of England set out for Gascony, and, 105. Richard 
besieging William de Chisi's castle, took it. William himself, Prepares for 
the lord of the castle, he hanged, because he had robbed the 
pilgrims to St. James [of Campostella] and other folk passing 
through his land. Then came the king of England to Chinon, 
in Anjou, where he appointed Gerard, archbishop of Auch, 
Bernard, bishop of Bayonne, Robert de Sablun, Richard de 
Camville, and William de Forz of Oleron leaders and consta- 
bles of his whole fleet that was about to set sail for the land of 
Syria. And he gave them his charter as follows : 

Richard, by the grace of God king of England, duke of Regulations 
Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anion, to all his men ^°'' ^^^ ""' 

1 1 • Til • -r^ sading fleet 

who are about to journey to Jerusalem by sea, greeting. Know 
that with the common counsel of approved men we have had 
the following regulations drawn up. Whoever on board ship 
shall slay another is himself to be cast into the sea, lashed to 
the dead man ; if he have slain him ashore, he is to be buried 
in the same way. If any one be proved by worthy witnesses to 
have drawn a knife for the purpose of striking another, or to 
have wounded another so as to draw blood, let him lose his 
hand ; but if he strike another with his hand and draw no blood, 
let him be dipped three times in the sea. If any one cast any 
reproach or bad word against another, or invoke God's curse 
on him, let him for every offense pay an ounce of silver. Let 
a convicted thief be shorn like a hired champion ; after which 
let boiling pitch be poured on his head and a feather pillow 



174 



Readijigs in English History 



io6. The 
penance of 
Richard 
("90) 



Religious in- 
terests of 
Richard 



be shaken over it, so as to make him a laughing stock. Then 
let him be put ashore at the first land where the ships touch. 
Witness, myself at Chinon. 

Moreover the same king in another writ enjoined all his 
men who were going to sea to yield obedience to the words 
and ordinances of the aforesaid justiciars of his fleet. Then 
the king went to Tours, where he received the pilgrim's staff 
and wallet from the hand of William, archbishop of Tours. 
And when the king leaned on the staff it broke. 

The sudden contrition and humble penance of Richard, 
described in the follow^ing passage, are characteristic of 
his hot-blooded race and of the sentiment of the twelfth 
century, as well as of his own emotional character. His 
humiliation is not unlike his father's at Canterbury. 

In the same year Richard, king of England, inspired by the 
divine grace, called to mind the foulness of his past life, and 
after contrition of heart gathered together the bishops and 
archbishops, who were with him at Messina, in Reginald de 
Moyac's chapel. Then, falling naked at their feet, he did not 
blush to confess the foulness of his life to God, in their pres- 
ence. For the thorns of his evil lusts had grown higher than 
his head, and there was no hand to root them up. Yet did 
God, the father of mercies, who willeth not the death of a 
sinner but that he may be converted and live, turn on him 
once more the eyes of his mercy, giving him a penitent heart 
and calling him to repentance. For he in his own person re- 
ceived penance from the aforesaid bishops ; and from that 
hour once more became a man fearing God, shunning ill and 
doing good. Happy he who so falls only to rise up stronger. 
Happy he who, after repentance, has not slipped back into sin. 

In the same year Richard, king of England, hearing by com- 
mon fame and the report of many that there was in Cala- 
bria a certain monk named Joachim, a Cistercian, and abbot 
of Corazzo, sent for him and willingly listened to the words of 
his prophecy, his wisdom, and his teaching. For this Joachim 
had the spirit of prophecy and used to foretell what was going 



Foundations of National Unity 175 

to happen. Moreover he was a man learned in the divine scrip- 
tures and used to set forth the meaning of St. John's visions, — 
those visions which St. John narrates in the Apocalypse and 
wrote with his own hand. In hearing his words the king of 
England and his followers took much pleasure. 

We get some idea of the experiences of King Richard 
and his followers after reaching the Holy Land, from 
the following account. 

On the appointed day the host armed early and ranged 107. A battle 
itself in proper order. At the very rear went the king, to guard °* *^® 
against the Turks who hung threateningly near. That day's t^g ylqIw 
journey was but short. From the very moment this accursed Land (1191) 
race saw our army on the move, like mountain torrents they 
began to rush down the heights in many separate bands : here 
maybe by twenties, there by thirties, and so on. And being so 
scattered they took every opportunity of doing our army what 
damage they could, for they grieved sorely at the death of 
their relatives, whose mangled bodies they had seen ; where- 
fore they harassed our army more keenly, constantly following 
it up and annoying it by every means in their power. But by 
the divine grace our army crossed the river of Acre unharmed, 
pitched on the other side not far beyond the river, and waited 
there till the whole army should be collected, on Friday, the August 23, 
eve of St. Bartholomew. On the following Monday two full ''^S^ 
years had passed since the Christians began to besiege Acre. 

So, on Sunday, the morrow of St. Bartholomew, at early morn 
the army was ranged in battalions for its march along the sea- 
shore. King Richard led the vanguard. The Normans stood 
like a wall round the standard. . . . The duke of Burgundy 
and his French, who were in the rear, followed at less speed, 
and, thanks to their delay, came near to suffering a most 
terrible loss. The army was marching, having the sea on its 
right, whilst from the mountain heights on the left the Turks 
kept a watch on all our movements. Suddenly there swelled 
up a black and dangerous cloud, and the air grew troubled. 
The army had now reached a narrow pass, along which the 



176 Readings hi English History 

provision wagons had to go. Here, on account of the narrow- 
ness of the way, there was some confusion and disorder ; the 
Saracens, noting this, swept down upon the pack horses and 
wagons, cutting off unwary men and steeds, plundering much 
of the baggage, breaking through and dispersing those who 
offered any resistance, and driving them in flight and slaughter 
to the brink of the sea. There both sides fought with manful 
courage for dear life. On this occasion, when a Turk had cut 
off the right hand of a certain Everard, one of the bishop of 
Salisbury's men, he, without changing countenance, seized his 
sword with the left hand and, closing with the Turks, stoutly 
defended himself against them all, brandishing his weapon. 
Richard The rear of the army was exceedingly perturbed at this onset 

comes to the ^jji John Fitz-Luke, urging his horse forward at full speed, bore 

rescue of the ' r n 1 111 i t-- t-. ■ 1 1 1 

rear guard news of all that had happened to King Richard, who, coming 
back with a band of his own men, brought aid to the rear and 
thundered on against the Turks, slaying them right and left 
with his sword. Nor was there any loitering, but right and left, 
as of old the Philistines fled from the face of the Maccabee, 
so now did the Turks scatter and flee from the face of King 
Richard, till they gained the mountain heights, leaving, how- 
ever, some of their number headless in our hands. In this 
conflict one of the French, William des Barres by name, who 
had formerly incurred Richard's displeasure, was now restored, 
thanks to his signal valor, to his former favor. 

Saladin was not far off, with the flower of his army ; but, 
after this repulse, the Turks, despairing of gaining any advan- 
tage, contented themselves with watching our movements from 
a distance. Accordingly our army, resuming its line of march, 
came to a great river and cisterns, which they found to be 
good. There, in a pleasant plain, they fixed their tents, for 
they saw indications that Saladin had pitched there before them, 
and, noting the way in which so wide a district was trodden 
down, judged his army to be very large. 

V. The Reign of John 

The two great crises of John's reign were the strug- 
gle with the church and the struggle with the barons, 



of the inter- 
dict of 1208- 
1213 



Foundations of National Unity 177 

culminating respectively in the interdict and the granting 
of Magna Carta. It is difficult now to realize how deeply 
the life of the people was affected by the imposition of 
an interdict, but some idea of this may be obtained from 
the details in the following account, taken from the 
annals of the abbey of Waverley. 

Finally, after many petitions were made, as well to the king 108. Account 
as to the bishops, and these were not listened to, it was enjoined 
on the bishops of the whole kingdom by the authority of the 
lord pope that, unless the king should admit the archbishop 
and the monks, they should lay, throughout the whole English 
church, an interdict on all the holy ofifices, except the baptism 
of infants and the confession of the dying. William of London, 
Eustace of Ely, and Mauger of Worcester were made special 
executors of this command. When they had received this 
order they came again to the king, and on bended knees and 
with tears in their eyes begged that he would quietly allow 
Stephen, the archbishop of the Anglican church, to return to 
his church at Canterbury, showing to him several letters which 
had been sent to them by the lord pope and by the archbishop 
concerning this affair. But since his heart had become hardened 
and he would not hear them, they showed him the order of the 
lord pope for laying a general interdict on all the holy ofifices 
throughout the English church, unless he would admit the 
archbishop. 

After the date for laying the interdict had been postponed The interdict 
several times for the king, since he persisted in his obstinacy, '^ '^"^ (Apnl, 
on the first day of the month beginning after the Sunday on 
which is sung ^'■Isti sunt dies,'" to wit, the day before the 
Annunciation of the Lord, March 24, a general interdict was 
placed on all the holy ofifices, and the doors of the churches 
were closed by the authority of the lord pope. 

When this edict was pronounced generally throughout The king in 
England the king was greatly disturbed, and ordered in the retahation 

, . , , ^ . r 1 • r confiscates 

entire kmgdom a general confiscation of the possessions of ^j^g property 
all bishops, clergy, and religious men, as well as of all other of the clergy- 
ecclesiastical possessions, and sent throughout all the shires 



178 Readings in English History 

his own officers, clergy as well as laymen, to confiscate the 
possessions of the churches. These men went through the 
country, seizing the personal property of the clergy and 
the immovable goods within and without the churches, intrust- 
ing the care of those things in the separate villages to men near 
by, through whose hands the clergy might obtain necessities. 
In many places they even broke the bars on the granaries of 
the clergy. On account of these erroneous sins, by order of 
the bishops a sentence of excommunication was passed on all 
those who should lay violent hands upon ecclesiastical posses- 
sions, excepting the persons of the king and the queen and 
the justiciar of the lord king. 
Exile of the When, even after a lamenting petition on the part of the 
bishops bishops, such madness could in no way be checked, William 
of London, Eustace of Ely, Gilbert of Rochester, and after- 
wards Mauger of Worcester and Giles of Hereford crossed 
over the sea. The anger of the king was by no means abated, 
but rather became more severe. He ordered the soldiers and 
officers, in the confiscation of the goods of the church and 
clergy, to seize the housekeepers, mistresses, and concubines 
of the priests and clergy which they found, and to detain them 
until they should be redeemed with money by the priests and 
clergy, which was afterwards done. While the bishops were 
delaying in foreign parts, the king sent abbots and other mes- 
sengers for the archbishop, that he should come to England, 
but not as archbishop. When the archbishop had been dis- 
suaded from this, he ordered the three bishops of London, 
Ely, and Worcester to come to England. Since they were 
summoned they came, and after waiting for an audience with 
the king for- eight weeks they returned without having com- 
Other rulers pleted the matter. The evil became even greater, and Henry, 
expostulate duke of Saxony, came into England to his uncle. King John, 
^' begging him to make peace with the church and to recall the 

archbishop. Afterwards King Otto wrote to King John, both 
concerning the peace of the church and reconciliation with the 
archbishop. Later the king sent four of his leading men into 
Germany to Otto, after whose return the king softened some- 
what his anger and moderated his actions against the church. 



Foundations of National Unity 1 79 

The growing unpopularity of John finally led to the 
formation of the conspiracy of the nobles against him, 
described in the following account from the chronicle of 
Roger of Wendover. 

About this time the earls and barons of- England assembled 109. Thecon- 

at St. Edmund's, as if for religious duties, although it was for ^piracy of 

r , , T , ■ 1 , tlie barons 

some other reason ; for after they had discoursed together (1213) 

secretly for a time, there was placed before them the charter 
of King Henry the First, which they had received, as mentioned 
before, in the city of London from Stephen, archbishop of 
Canterbury. This charter contained certain liberties and laws 
granted to the holy church as well as to the nobles of the king- 
dom, besides some liberties which the king added of his own 
accord.^ All therefore assembled in the church of St. Edmund, 
the king and martyr, and, commencing from those of the 
highest rank, they all swore on the great altar that if the king 
refused to grant these liberties and laws, they would withdraw 
themselves from their allegiance to him, and make war on 
him, till he should, by a charter under his own seal, confirm to 
them everything they required ; and finally it was unanimously 
agreed that, after Christmas, they should all go together to the 
king and demand the confirmation to them of the aforesaid lib- 
erties, and that they should, in the meantime, provide them- 
selves with horses and arms, so that if the king should endeavor 
to depart from his oath, they might, by taking his castles, com- 
pel him to satisfy their demands ; and having arranged this, 
each man returned home. . . . 

The seventeenth year of the reign of King John he held The first 
his court at Winchester at Christmas for one day, after which "smg of the 
he hurried to London and took up his abode at the New 
Temple. At that place the above-mentioned nobles came to 
him in gay military array, and demanded the confirmation of 
the liberties and laws of King Edward, with other liberties 
granted to them and to the kingdom and church of England, 
as were contained in the charter and above-mentioned laws of 

1 This was the coronation charter of Henry I, given on pp. 121-123. 



i8o 



Readings in English History 



Henry the First. They also asserted that, at the time of his abso- 
lution at Winchester, he had promised to restore those laws and 
ancient liberties, and was bound by his own oath to observe them. 
The king, hearing the bold tone of the barons in making 
this demand, much feared an attack from them, as he saw that 
they were prepared for battle ; he made answer, however, that 
their demands were a matter of importance and difficulty, and 
he therefore asked a truce till the end of Easter, that he might, 
after due deliberation, be able to satisfy them as well as the 
dignity of his crown. After much discussion on both sides the 
king at length, although unwillingly, procured the archbishop 
of Canterbury, the bishop of Ely, and William Marshal as his 
sureties, that on the day agreed on he would, in all reason, 
satisfy them all, on which the nobles returned to their homes. 



The second 
rising of 
the barons 



In Easter week of this same year the above-mentioned 
nobles assembled at Stamford, with horses and arms. They 
had now induced almost all the nobility of the whole kingdom 
to join them, and constituted a very large army ; for in their 
army there were computed to be two thousand knights, besides 
horse soldiers, attendants, and foot soldiers, who were variously 
equipped. . . . The king at this time was awaiting the arrival 
of his nobles at Oxford. On the Monday next after the octaves 
of Easter the said barons assembled in the town of Brackley ; 
and when the king learned this he sent the archbishop of 
Canterbury and William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with some 
other prudent men, to them to inquire what the laws and liber- 
ties were which they demanded. The barons then delivered 
to the messengers a paper containing in great measure the 
laws and ancient customs of the kingdom, and declared that 
unless the king immediately granted them and confirmed them 
under his own seal, they would, by taking possession of his 
fortresses, force him to give them sufficient satisfaction as to 
the before-named demands. The archbishop with his fellow- 
messengers then carried the paper to the king, and read to 
him the heads of the paper one by one throughout. 

The king, when he heard the purport of these heads, said 
derisively, with the greatest indignation : " Why, amongst these 



Foundations of National Unity i8i 

unjust demands, did not the barons ask for my kingdom also? 
Their demands are vain and visionary, and are unsupported 
by any plea of reason whatever." And at length he angrily 
declared with an oath that he would never grant them such 
liberties as would render him their slave. . . . 

As the archbishop and William Marshal could not by any The barons 
persuasions induce the king to agree to their demands, they march against 
returned by the king's order to the barons, and duly reported 
to them all they had heard from the king ; and when the nobles 
heard what John said, they appointed Robert Fitz-Walter com- 
mander of their soldiers, giving him the title of Marshal of the 
Army of God and the Holy Church, and then, one and all flying 
to arms, they directed their forces towards Northampton. 

King John, when he saw that he was deserted by almost all, The king 
so that out of his regal superabundance of followers he scarcely yields to 
retained seven knights, was much alarmed lest the barons would fo^^e 
attack his castles and reduce them without difficulty, as they 
would find no obstacle to their so doing ; and he deceitfully 
pretended to make peace for a time with the aforesaid barons, 
and sent William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with other trust- 
worthy messengers, to them, and told them that, for the sake 
of peace, and for the exaltation and honor of the kingdom, he 
would willingly grant them the laws and liberties they required. 
He also sent word to the barons, by these same messengers, to 
appoint a fitting day and place to meet and carry all these 
matters into effect. The king's messengers then came in all 
haste to London, and without deceit reported to the barons 
all that had been deceitfully imposed on them ; they, in their 
great joy, appointed the fifteenth of June for the king to meet 
them at a field lying between Staines and Windsor. Accord- Runnymede, 
ingly, at the time and place agreed on, the king and nobles °" *'^'^ 
came to the appointed conference, and when each party had 
stationed theijiselves apart from the other, they began a long dis- 
cussion about terms of peace and the aforesaid liberties. . . . 
At length, after various points on both sides had been discussed, 
King John, seeing that he was inferior in strength to the barons, 
without raising any difficulty granted the underwritten laws 
and liberties, and confirmed them by his charter as follows : 



l82 



Readings in English History 



no. Extracts 
from the 
Great 
Charter 
(1215) 



Freedom to 
the church 



John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, 
duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, to the arch- 
bishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, 
sheriffs, reeves, servants, and all bailiffs and his faithful people, 
greeting. Know that by the inspiration of God and for the 
good of our soul and those of all our predecessors and of our 
heirs, to the honor of God and the exaltation of holy church, 
and the improvement of our kingdom, by the advice of our 
venerable fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate 
of all England and cardinal of the holy Roman church, Henry, 
archbishop of Dublin, William of London, Peter of Winchester, 
Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of 
Worcester, William of Coventry, and Benedict of Rochester, 
bishops ; of Master Pandulf , subdeacon and member of the 
household of the lord pope, of Brother Aymeric, master of the 
Knights of the Temple in England ; and of the noblemen 
William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of Salisbury, 
William, earl of Warren, W'illiam, earl of Arundel, Alan of 
Galloway, constable of Scotland, Warren Fitz-Gerald, Peter 
Fitz-Herbert, Hubert de Burgh, steward of Poitou, Hugh de 
Nevil, Matthew Fitz-Herbert, Thomas Bassett, Alan Bassett, 
Philip d'Albini, Robert de Roppelay, John Marshal, John Fitz- 
Hugh, and others of our faithful. 

I. In the first place, we have granted to God, and by this 
our present charter confirmed, for us and for our heirs forever, 
that the English church shall be free, and shall hold its rights 
entire and its liberties uninjured ; and we will that it be thus 
observed ; which is shown by this, that the freedom of elections, 
which is considered to be most important and especially neces- 
sary to the English church, we, of our pure and spontaneous 
will, granted, and by our charter confirmed, before the contest 
between us and our barons had arisen ; and obtained a con- 
firmation of it by the lord pope, Innocent III ; which we shall 
observe and which we will shall be observed in good faith by 
our heirs forever. 

We have granted, moreover, to all free men of our kingdom, for 
us and our heirs forever, all the liberties written below, to be had 
and holden by themselves and their heirs from us and our heirs. 



Foundations of National Unity 183 

2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding from us A promise of 
in chief by military service, shall have died, and when he has "^"j*^!^^*;^. 

•I J ^ leudal claims ; 

died his heir shall be of full age and owe relief, he shall have taken from 
his inheritance by the ancient relief ; that is to say, the heir '^hs charter 
or heirs of an earl for the whole barony of an earl a hundred ° ^""^^ 
pounds ; the heir or heirs of a baron for a whole barony a 
hundred pounds ; the heir or heirs of a knight for a whole 
knight's fee a hundred shillings at most; and who owes less 
let him give less according to the ancient custom of fiefs. 

3. If, moreover, the heir of any one of such shall be under 
age, and shall be in wardship, when he comes of age he shall 
have his inheritance without relief and without a fine. 

6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, so, never- 
theless, that before the marriage is contracted it shall be 
announced to the relatives by blood of the heir himself. 

7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall have her 
marriage portion and her inheritance immediately and without 
obstruction, nor shall she give anything for her dowry or for 
her marriage portion, or for her inheritance, which inheritance 
her husband and she held on the day of the death of her 
husband ; and she may remain in the house of her husband 
for forty days after his death, within which time her dowry 
shall be assigned to her. 

8. No widow shall be compelled to marry so long as she pre- 
fers to live without a husband, provided she gives security that 
she will not marry without our consent, if she holds from us, 
or without the consent of her lord from whom she holds, if she 
holds from another. 

12. No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom 
except by the common council of our kingdom, except for the 
ransoming of our body, for the making of our oldest son a 
knight, and for once marrying our oldest daughter ; and for 
these purposes it shall be only a reasonable aid. In the same 
way it shall be done concerning the aids of the city of London. 

13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liber- 
ties and free customs, as well by land as by water. Moreover, 



1 84 



Readings in English History 



A plan for a 
common 
council or 
parliament. 
This promise 
was with- 
drawn in the 
next reign 



The king's 
courts shall 
be held at 
convenient 
times and 
places 



we will and grant that all other cities and boroughs and villages 
and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs. 

14. And for holding a common council of the kingdom con- 
cerning the assessment of an aid otherwise than in the three 
cases mentioned above, or concerning the assessment of a 
scutage, we shall cause to be summoned the archbishops, bish- 
ops, abbots, earls, and greater barons by our letters under 
seal ; and besides we shall cause to be summoned generally, 
by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all those who hold from us in chief, 
for a certain day, that is at the end of forty days at least, and 
for a certain place ; and in all the letters of that summons we 
will express the cause of the summons, and when the summons 
has thus been given the business shall proceed on the appointed 
day, on the advice of those who shall be present, even if not 
all of those who were summoned have come. 

15. We will not grant to any one, moreover, that he shall 
take an aid from his freemen, except for ransoming his body, 
for making his oldest son a knight, and for once marrying his 
oldest daughter ; and for these purposes only a reasonable aid 
shall be taken. 

16. No one shall be compelled to perform for a knight's 
fee or for any other free tenement any greater service than is 
owed from it. 

17. The common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall 
be held in some certain place. 

18. The recognitions of novel disseisin, mart d' ancestor, diiid 
darreiti presentment shall be held only in their own counties 
and in this manner : we, or, if we are outside of the kingdom, 
our principal justiciar, will send two justiciars through each 
county four times a year, who, with four knights of each county, 
elected by the county, shall hold in the county and on the day 
and in the place of the county court the aforesaid assizes of 
the county. 



28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take any one's 
grain or other chattels without immediately paying for them 
in money, unless he is able to obtain a postponement at the 
good will of the seller. 



Foundatio7is of National Unity 1 8 5 

29. No constable shall require any knight to give money in 
place of his ward of a castle, if he is willing to furnish that ward 
in his own person or through another honest man, if he him- 
self is not able to do it for a reasonable cause; and if we shall 
lead or send him into the army, he shall be free from ward in 
proportion to the time which he has been in the army. 

30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours or any one else shall take 
horses or wagons of any freeman for carrying purposes except 
on the permission of that freeman. 

3 1 . Neither we nor our bailiffs will take the wood of another 
man for castles, or for anything else which we are doing, ex- 
cept by the permission of him to whom the wood belongs. 

35. There shall be one measure of wine throughout our 
whole kingdom, and one measure of ale, and one measure of 
grain, that is the London quarter, and one width of dyed cloth 
and of russets and of halbergets, that is two ells within the 
selvages ; of weights, moreover, it shall be as of measures. 

39. No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed, General free- 
or outlawed or banished or in any way destroyed, nor will we "^^"^ *^''°"'' 
go upon him, nor send upon him, except by the legal judgment 

of his peers or by the law of the land. 

40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay 
right or justice. 

41 . All merchants shall be safe and secure in going out from 
England and coming into England, and in remaining and going 
through England, as well by land as by water, for buying and 
selling, free from all evil tolls, by the ancient and rightful cus- 
toms, except in time of war, and if they are of a land at war 
with us ; and if such are found in our land at the beginning of 
war, they shall be attached without injury to their bodies or 
goods, until it shall be known from us or from our principal 
justiciar in what way the merchants of our land are treated who 
shall be then found in the country which is at war with us ; and 
if ours are safe there, the others shall be safe in our land. 

47. All forests which have been afforested in our time shall 
be disafforested immediately ; and so it shall be concerning 
river banks which in our time have been fenced in. 



1 86 Readings 17 1 English History 

Expulsion 51. And immediately after the reestablishment of peace we 

of mercenaries ^^qj remove from the kingdom all foreign-born soldiers, cross- 
bowmen, servants, and mercenaries who have come with horses 
and arms for the injury of the realm. 

52. If any one shall have been dispossessed or removed by 
us without legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, 
franchises, or his right, we will restore them to him immedi- 
ately ; and if contention arises about this, then it shall be done 
according to the judgment of the twenty-five barons, of whom 
mention is made below concerning the security of the peace. 
Concerning all those things, however, from which any one has 
been removed or of which he has been deprived without legal 
judgment of his peers by King Henry our father, or by King 
Richard our brother, which we have in our hand, or which others 
hold, and which it is our duty to guarantee, we shall have res- 
pite till the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things 
about which the suit has been begun or the inquisition made by 
our writ before our assumption of the cross. When, however, we 
shall return from our journey, or if by chance we desist from the 
journey, we will immediately show full justice in regard to them. 

60. Moreover, all those customs and franchises mentioned 

above, which we have conceded in our kingdom, and which are 

to be fulfilled, as far as pertains to us, in respect to our men, 

all men of our kingdom, as well clergy as laymen, shall observe 

as far as pertains to them, in respect to their men. 

The crude 6i. Since, moreover, for the sake of God, and for the im- 

plan for provement of our kingdom, and for the better quieting of the 

thesepromises hostility Sprung lip lately between us and our barons, we have 

made all these concessions ; wishing them to enjoy these in a 

complete and firm stability forever, we make and concede to 

them the security described below ; that is to say, that they 

shall elect twenty-five barons of the kingdom, whom they will, 

who ought with all their power to observe, hold, and cause to 

be observed, the peace and liberties which we have conceded 

to them, and by this our present charter confirmed to them. 

Thus if we or our justiciar, or our bailiffs, or any of our servants 
shall have done wrong in any way toward any one, or shall have 



Foundations of National Unity 187 

transgressed any of the articles of peace or security, and the 
wrong shall have been shown to four barons of the aforesaid 
twenty-five barons, let those four barons come to us, or to our 
justiciar, if we are out of the kingdom, laying before us the 
transgression, and let them ask that we cause that transgression 
to be corrected without delay. And if we shall not have cor- 
rected the transgression, or, if we shall be out of the kingdom, 
if our justiciar shall not have corrected it, within a period of 
forty days, counting from the time in which it has been shown 
to lis, or to our justiciar, if we are out of the kingdom, the 
aforesaid four barons shall refer the matter to the remainder 
of the twenty-five barons, and let these twenty-five barons with 
the whole community of the country distress and injure us in 
every way they can ; that is to say, by the seizure of our castles, 
lands, possessions, and in such other ways as they can until it 
shall have been corrected according to their judgment, saving 
our person and that of our queen, and those of our children; 
and when the correction has been made, let them devote them- 
selves to us as they did before. And let whoever in the country 
wishes take an oath that in all the above-mentioned measures 
he will obey the orders of the aforesaid twenty-five barons, and 
that he will injure us as far as he is able with them, and we 
give permission to swear publicly and freely to each one who 
wishes to swear, and no one will we ever forbid to swear. . . . 

63. Wherefore we will and firmly command that the church 
of England shall be free, and that the men in our kingdom 
shall have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights, and con- 
cessions, well and peacefully, freely and quietly, fully and com- 
pletely, for themselves and their heirs, from us and our heirs, 
in all things and places, forever, as before said. It has been 
sworn, moreover, as well on our part as on the part of the 
barons, that all these things spoken of above shall be observed 
in good faith and without any evil intent. Witness the above 
named and many others. Given by our hand in the meadow 
which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on 
the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our reign. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE FORMATION OF A UNITED ENGLISH NATION, 1216-1337 

I. The Universities 

The growing activity and importance of the universi- 
ties, which was so characteristic of this period, is marked 
by the adoption by the various colleges and by the uni- 
versity authorities, of a great number of rules on a variety 
of academic subjects. Some of the most familiar of these 
were for taking books from the college libraries, restrict- 
ing expenditures at the common tables, regulating fees 
to the masters, requiring the use of Latin in conversa- 
tion, establishing the conditions of graduation, etc. The 
following are examples, given in the collection called Mii- 
nimenta Academica, describing conditions at Oxford from 
the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. 

III. Rules Each book of the house, now or hereafter to be given out, 
for taking 5^3^11 ^^g taken only after leaving a large deposit, in order that 
gtc. ' the one having it may the more fear to lose it ; and let a dupli- 
cate receipt be made, of which one part shall be kept in the 
common custody, and the other be taken by the scholar having 
the book ; and let no book be given out outside of the col- 
lege without a still better bond, and with consent of all the 
scholars. . . . 

No one shall interfere with the regular arrangement of the 
household either in the choice of dinners or in the occupation 
of the rooms of the house, but each scholar shall give diligent 
assistance ; and especially they shall not exceed an expense of 
twelve pence a week each from the common treasury, except 



The Formation of a United English Natio7i 1 89 

in the three prmcipal weeks, unless a special dispensation has 
been given by the university. . . . 

All the scholars of the house shall often speak Latin, in order 
that they may obtain an easier and more ready and more de- 
corous manner of speaking in disputations and in other proper 
circumstances. 

Let them all live honorably, like clerics, as becometh saints, 
not fighting, nor using base or scurrilous language, nor singing 
love songs, nor telling tales of love adventures or such as lead 
to evil thoughts ; not ridiculing any one or stirring him to 
anger, nor shouting so that students may be interfered with 
in their study or their rest. 

Masters of the liberal arts willingly perform varied and heavy Fees to be 
labors in lecturing and discussing, for the profit and advantage P^"| ^'^ 

,, ^ . . ,-,, students 

of their scholars, but on account of stmgmess, which has grown 
up in these modern days more than formerly, they are not suffi- 
ciently rewarded by them for these labors, as is befitting and 
as was formerly done ; therefore it is made a rule, that each 
scholar of the faculty of arts attending in the hall at the usual 
weekly exercises shall pay, for either the old or new logic, at 
least twelve pence for the whole year, dividing it in proper pro- 
portions for the separate terms. 

Those who shall regularly hear lectures on books on physics 
must pay eighteen pence for hearing these books for a year. 

It is made a rule that masters of the grammar schools shall 
be required to dispute on grammar on Thursdays. 

Since it has been made a law from old time, that masters 
holding schools of grammar should, on their oath, give attention 
to the positive knowledge of their scholars ; yet some, looking 
for gain and profit and forgetful of their own salvation, treating 
that statute with contempt, have presumed to give w^hat they 
call " cursory lectures," to the evident injury of their scholars; 
the chancellor, wishing to look out for the profit of the same 
scholars, and especially the younger ones, as he is bound to do, 
has suspended such attendance, which is not only frivolous but 
injurious to the advancement of the said younger scholars, and 



IQO 



Readings in English History 



Books to be 
studied before 
graduation 



112. Ac- 
knowledg- 
ment of a 
bequest by 
college 
authorities 



has made a law, that whosoever shall in future wish to conduct 
schools of grammar shall desist from cursory lectures of this 
kind, under pain of being deprived of the rule of the schools 
and of undergoing imprisonment at the will of the chancellor. 
Neither in the schools nor anywhere in the university shall 
they give such courses of lectures as these, or allow them to be 
given, but shall attend diligently to the positive instruction of 
their scholars. 

The bachelors about to take their degree in a certain year 
must appear before certain masters, with the good testimony 
of some other masters and bachelors. They shall then swear, 
touching the sacred objects, that they have heard all the books 
of the old logic at least twice, except the books of Boethius, 
which it is enough to have read once, and the fourth book of the 
Topics of Boethius, which they are not required to have read. 
Of the new logic they shall swear that they have read the books 
of First Topics and Outlines twice, the book of Later Topics 
at least once. Of grammar they must swear that they have 
heard Concerning Constructions of Priscian twice, the Barba- 
rism of Donatus once, or three books of physical matters ; viz. 
Physics, Of the Soul, Of Generation and Corruption. 

For the assistance of poor scholars, chests, or endow- 
ments, were established by gift or bequest, from which 
under various regulations temporary loans were made ; 
books, garments, and other pledges being left as security. 
The bequest referred to in the following document was 
made to one of the Oxford colleges in 1306 by the 
bishop of Winchester. 

Since it is one of the works of piety to give relief to the 
poverty of pious scholars, who in seeking the pearl of knowledge 
in the field of the Lord are exposing themselves to labor, con- 
flict, and various troubles, the executors of Lord John of Ponti- 
sara, formerly bishop of Winchester, who had a special affection 
for the masters and scholars of this university, have generously 
given and delivered to us 200 marks, which we acknowledge 



The Formation of a United English Nation 1 9 1 

to have received from the said executors, to be converted to 
the use and advantage of the masters and scholars of the said 
university under the following regulations. Every year, on St. 
Nicholas eve, in winter, shall be celebrated a solemn anniver- 
sary of the said bishop with the full service of the dead. 

Scholars of each faculty, if they are needy, shall enjoy the 
benefit of this fund, on condition that a master who lectures 
may borrow forty shillings, a master who does not lecture two 
marks and a half, a bachelor two marks, a sophist one mark. 

Each scholar receiving any of the money is required to say 
the Lord's prayer and the Ave Maria each five times for the 
soul of the dead above mentioned. 

Students at the universities were numerous and dis- 
orderly. They were under very insufficient restraint, 
many of them remained at the universities for years, 
and there was much drinking and fighting. Some of 
these conflicts were between students and townsmen of 
Oxford and Cambridge, some among the students them- 
selves. The following instances are of the latter class. 

In Lent there arose a painful conflict in Oxford ; the trouble 113. Fight- 
of the preceding year had not been entirely allayed, but still ing between 
kept irritating the parties. The scholars from Wales, always fj-om the 
restless, rose, along with the scholars from the south, who stood northern and 
by them against the northern scholars, and many evils and even gjjjj-gg 
deaths resulted. This disagreement increased to such an ex- 
tent that a day for an open battle in the field was fixed between 
the parties. But God intervened, and Thomas of Woodstock, 
duke of Gloucester, came in and arranged matters with slight 
loss ; many of the students of Wales were banished from the 
University of Oxford.- They were compelled to this by some 
of the scholars from the north, who were prepared for this when 
they came to the gates to offer reconciliation. 

Not infrequently these students' fights resulted in 
actual murder, as in the following case. 



192 



Readings in English History 



114. A coro- Pleas of the crown held in the presence of Stephen Morys 

ner's in- ^^^^^^ Edmund Listere, coroners of the liberty of Cambridge, 

Cambridge from the Monday after the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, in the 

forty-third year of the reign of King Edward the Third, even 

to the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, in the fourth year of 

the reign of King Richard the Second. 

On the Sabbath day, in the vigil of Pentecost, in the forty- 
eighth year of the reign of King Edward the Third, it happened 
at Cambridge that a certain Roger Kebbel was found dead, 
bearing a wound on the right side of his head four inches in 
length and two in depth. Inquiry concerning the death was 
made of William de Cumberton, William Hyndercle, John 
Colvile, skinner, John de Norfolk, John Coupere, Robert de 
Holm, Richard Bowyer, Andreas Breustere, Richard Ferrour, 
John Albyn, John Hosyere, and Thomas Maydenston. These 
men declared on oath that on Wednesday, on the feast of St. 
Mark the Evangelist, in the year above mentioned, just before 
midnight, a certain quarrel arose in Cambridge near the corner 
of St. Benedict, between Master Robert Utesle and John de 
Two bodies of Stowe, John Saunford, and other clerks, who began to fight 
among themselves. When this was announced to the friends 
of the said John Saunford, clerks came from the different inns 
and from the castle to the said corner to aid the said John, 
among whom came the above-mentioned Roger Kebbel. One 
Richard Reyner came with a poleax and dealt the said Roger 
the above-mentioned blow, from which he died, after lingering 
from the said feast of St. Mark even to the vigil of Pentecost. 
Immediately after this wicked deed the said Richard fled. They 
say that the said Richard has no lands, dwellings, goods, or 
chattels which can be valued or appraised. 



students 
fight 



Students in the universities, notwithstanding their oc- 
casional disorderliness, ranked as clerics. They were ton- 
sured, that is to say, a small circle on the top of the 
head was kept shaved, and they could be tried only by 
the ofificers of the university, or, like other clerics, in the 
church courts. The usual procedure, when a clergyman 



The Fo7-tnation of a United EnglisJi Nation 193 

was charged with offenses in a civil court, was to show 
his tonsure, and then to ask for a book and prove that 
he was a clergyman by his ability to read it. Then he 
was released or turned over to the bishop's court, where 
the punishment was always light, never extending to the 
death penalty. In a book called Philobiblon, written 
about this time by a bishop of Durham, books, which 
are personified, are made to set forth their various claims 
for consideration. They address themselves to the clergy 
as follows : 

Remember therefore, we pray, how many and how great 115. Fromthe 
liberties and privileges are conferred upon you, the clergy, '^'''p'chard'" 
through us books. Instructed by us, at a tender age, while of Bury 
you were yet without down upon your chins, you received the 
tonsure upon your crowns, being protected by the dread claim 
of the church, in the decree, " Touch not my anointed, and 
do my prophets no harm ; and whoever rashly toucheth them, 
his own blow shall instantly recoil upon him with the wound 
of an anathema." At length, however, falling into the age of The wicked 
wickedness, arriving at the double way of the Pythagoric sym- ^^'^^^^ °^ ^"® 
bol, you chose the left-hand branch, and, turning aside, cast students 
off the preassumed destination of the Lord and became com- 
panions of thieves ; and thus ever progressing to worse, you 
were defiled by robberies, homicide, and various shameful 
crimes, your character and conscience being equally cor- 
rupted by wickedness. 

Being called to justice, you are bound in manacles and fet- 
ters, to be punished by a most ignominious death. Then your 
friend and neighbor fails you, nor is there any one to pity your 
fate. Peter swears he never knew the man ; the mob cries out 
to the judge, " Crucify him ! Crucify him ! For if you discharge 
this man you are not Caesar's friend." It is now too late to 
fly ; you must stand before the tribunal ; no place of appeal 
offers itself ; nothing but hanging is to be expected. When 
sorrow and the broken song of lamentation alone fill the heart 
of the wretched man, when his cheeks are watered with tears, 



194 



Readings in English History 



The culprit 
proves by 



is a clergy 
man 



and he is surrounded with anguish on every side, then let him 
remember us ; and in order to avoid the peril of approaching 
death, let him display the little token of the ancient tonsure 
which we gave him, begging that we may be called in on his 
book that he Ijc^alf, and bear witness of the benefit conferred. Then, moved 
by pity, we instantly run to meet the prodigal son, and snatch 
the fugitive servant from the gates of death. The well-known 
book is tendered to be read, and after a slight reading by the 
criminal, stammering from fear, the power of the judge is dis- 
solved, the accuser is withdrawn, death is put to flight. 

Many of the most valued privileges of the universities 
were grants from the pope, as the general head of the 
church, of which the universities were considered to be 
a part. 



ii6. John, 
bishop of 
Carlisle, to 
the pope, 
asking for 
Oxford the 
same privi- 
leges that 
have been 
given to 
Paris 



To the most holy father in Christ, Lord Boniface, by divine 
providence of the very holy Roman and universal church high- 
est pontiff, John, by the mercy of the same, humble minister 
of the church at Carlisle, with reverential obedience sends kisses 
for his blessed feet. 

Great fertility gladdens a mother, and the more virtuous the 
offspring the greater is the occasion for joy. The inexhaustible 
fertility of the University of Oxford does not cease to produce 
many great and useful sons for the ranks of the Lord, so that 
it is truly rated as the mother and nurse of English learning, 
and is deserving of being held in honor with the affection due 
to a mother. Therefore, since a wise son is the gladness of a 
father, she ought to be held in favor who increases the house 
of God with the wisdom and devotion of such sons. 

As I have learned, the apostolic foresight has considered it 
best to distinguish the university of the kingdom of France by 
such a privilege that all who have attained in any faculty the 
rank of the honor of master shall be permitted to deliver lec- 
tures in the same faculty anywhere, and to continue these as 
long as they please, without a new examination or approbation, 
without the duty of going back to the beginning, or of seeking 
the favor of any one. I therefore affectionately and devotedly 



TJie Formation of a United EnglisJi Nation 195 

beg your pious fatherly care that, for increasing with kind affec- 
tion the peace and uniformity among scholastics, it may be 
pleasing to your apostolic kindness to extend the common privi- 
lege of this dispensation to the said University of Oxford. There 
is truly a fear felt by many of the great men of the kingdom of 
England, that peace cannot long be preserved inviolate by the 
students, — a thing which is especially necessary among univer- 
sities, — unless the English university is acknowledged to be 
deserving of being ranked with the rest in liberties and scholas- 
tic powers. May the lord preserve your holiness to rule the 
universal church through all time ! Dated at Berwick, on the 
third day of September, 1296. 



II. The Monasteries 

The monasteries, many of w^hich had come down from 
a period before the Norman Conquest, were growing 
steadily in the extent of their possessions, and in the 
number of their inmates. Among the largest, richest, 
and most influential of the old Benedictine monasteries 
was that of St. Albans, situated about twenty miles north 
of London. Its records, which are still preserved, fill 
several volumes, and are occupied with notices of the 
erection of new buildings, ornamentation of the shrines 
in the abbey church, gifts of books, loans obtained from 
the Jews, settlement of disputes about property, and 
such matters, as is indicated in the following extracts. 

When the above-mentioned Abbot Robert had ruled excel- 117. Extracts 
lently for fifteen years, four months, and some days over the ^"^""^ ^'^^ 
church of St. Alban, which had been intrusted to him, being abbey of 
very ill with pleurisy, on a certain Sabbath night, the twenty- St. Albans 
third of October, he was anointed with the oil for the sick ("66-1260) 
by the venerable Lawrence, abbot of Westminster, who was 
present ; and just at dawTi he departed this life, in the year 
of the Incarnation of the Lord 1166. Gilbert Foliot, bishop of 



196 



Readings in English History 



Debts to 
the Jews 
and others 



Appeal to 
the king for 
permission to , . , 
elect a new ^IS loss 
abbot 



London, Lawrence, abbot of Westminster, and Simon, then 
prior of the church of St. Alban, were all present to bury him. 
He was interred in the chapter house, which he had so fittingly 
erected, at the feet of Abbot Paul, who was the first man in this 
church who is known to have been decked in pontifical array, 
as his likeness on his marble sarcophagus bears witness. 

After the abbot died the whole abbey was taken possession 
of by the justiciar of the king, but its care was intrusted by the 
same justiciar, Robert, earl of Leicester, to the prior, and to 
brother Adam, the cellarer, and other brethren of the place. 

The church was found to be burdened with many debts, the 
amount of which was discovered to be six hundred marks, as 
was estimated by the royal officials. It owed much to Christians, 
but more to the Jews. The abbot was excusable for this on 
account of the reasons for such difficulties, and was pardoned, 
at the earnest request of the best men. From a feeling of 
relationship and fellowship, however, since flesh and blood had 
revealed themselves to him, he had bestowed many gifts upon 
his own people. He had also caused the estate of Gorham with 
its belongings to be rashly regranted and wrongfully increased ; 
and at the beginning of the erection of the chapter house 
which he intended to build, he had, at the advice of his archi- 
tect, caused the bodies of the old abbots to be buried too 
meanly, and without any record of those distinguished men. 
So when the architect died of apoplexy, the memory of the 
place was lost. First carnal affection, and then negligence, 
weakened the heart of the man. 

Announcement was made to the lord king of the death of 
Robert, abbot of the church of St. Alban, and the king lamented 
The monks therefore immediately begged that per- 
mission be granted them to choose another in his place ; for 
four months and more the license to elect was postponed. 
Finally the king, overcome with weariness at their ceaseless 
prayers, wrote to the bishop of London to go to the monas- 
tery of St. Alban, where three names should be presented in 
his presence, and the whole affair should then be reported by 
him in a letter to the king. An account of the family and 
character of those nominated should also be sent, together with 



77^1? Formation of a Ujiitcd English Nation 197 

their acquirements and wisdom, in order that he himself might 
choose from the three the one whom he preferred. 

This was done, and when the family and career of the three Election of 
nominees had been announced to the king, he replied that his 
choice rested on the prior of the place, that is to say, Lord 
Simon ; and Simon was installed abbot of the church of St. 
Alban, a man of worthy life, well skilled in letters, and an 
especial lover of the Scriptures and of books. And immedi- 
ately on the same day, that is, the twentieth of May, which 
day was in that year the day of the Lord's Ascension, he was 
consecrated by the lord of London, Gilbert, whose cognomen 
is Foliot, with no pledge except that to the Roman church. 
And at this consecration he was adorned with the pontifical 
insignia. ... 

Abbot Simon of pious memory from that time began care- Building of 
fully and wisely to collect an immense treasure of gold, silver, L'^!ju'"^° 
and precious gems. And he began also to construct a recepta- 
cle which we call a shrine ^ (and up to this time we have seen 
none better) by the hand of a most excellent workman, IVIaster 
John, a goldsmith ; and within a few years he successfully com- 
pleted this piece of work, so laborious, so rich, and so finely 
wrought. When it was completed he placed it in a more promi- 
nent position, that is, above the high altar, opposite the person 
celebrating, so that each one celebrating the mass might have, 
in his face and in his heart, over this sanie altar, the memory 
of the martyr ; and so in the sight of the one celebrating there 
was constantly portrayed that vision w^iich showed the martyr- 
dom, that is to say, the murder of this same man. On two sides 
of the shrine were figured a series of the occurrences in the 
life of the blessed martyr, which were a pledge and a prepara- 
tion for his passion, with raised figures of gold and silver of 
beaten work, which is commonly called relief work. On the 
top facing the east he reverently placed an image of the cruci- 
fix, with the figures of Mary and John and a most suitable dis- 
play of precious gems. On the front, looking towards the west, 
he placed an image of the Blessed Virgin, seated on a throne 

1 For the remains of St. Alban, the patron saint of the monastery, who 
had been put to death there according to tradition in a.d. 286. 



198 Readings in English Histojy 

and holding her babe on her lap ; these figures were made of 
raised work and gems, including a precious gold necklace. A 
row of martyrs was arranged on top, and the shrine rose in a 
curving and elaborate finial. At the four corners were towers, 
with windows, beautifully completed with wonderfully con- 
structed crystal domes. The coffin of the martyr himself, made 
by Abbot Geoffrey, is fittingly placed within this shrine just 
as if it were his room in which his bones are known to be 
secretly hidden. 
Abbot Simon It must be noted, too, that Abbot Simon of immortal memory 
repairs and supported two Or three most excellent writers continually about 

endows the , . , , • , ,11 1 • r 1 1 

scriptorium huB ; by whose mdustry he had priceless copies of the best 
and has books books made to perfection, and placed them in a special deco- 
*^°^'^ rated case. He also repaired the scriptorium, which had at that 

time fallen into decay and had been neglected. In the case 
of this scriptorium he brought in certain praiseworthy customs, 
and he so enriched it by endowments that in all future times 
the abbot of the period would be able to have one special writer. 
Besides these most precious books, which it would take too long 
to enumerate, he presented silver basins and many other vases 
and ornaments to God and to the church, by bestowing them 
upon the holy martyr. . . . 
Profusion But inasmuch as no man upon earth, no, not even a babe a 

and nepotism (jg^y q\^^ jg without sin, let US run briefly over the errors of this 
man, although they are few in comparison with the number of 
his good works. At his death he left his abbey in debt more 
than six hundred marks to the Jews, besides other debts which 
had increased to the sum of two hundred marks or more. 
Wherefore Aaron the Jew, who held us bound to him, came 
to the house of St. Alban in great pride and arrogance and 
with threats boasted that he had made a shrine for our blessed 
St. Alban, and had prepared a dwelling place for him, when 
homeless, with his own money. Besides, and to this thing we 
refer not without a bleeding heart, he, weakened by carnal 
affection, loved his relations more than was fitting in a religious 
man, — dead, as he should be, to the world, — and enriched 
them with the goods of the cross. And not only the poor and 
needy who presented themselves, but also the knights and the 



Abbot 
Simon (1183) 



The Formation of a United English Nation 199 

powerful, were enriched by him, as well as those pretending 
a relationship, although none existed. For this purpose he 
cut down in great part the woods of St. Alban. He moreover 
omitted doing many good deeds which he could have done. 

This Abbot Simon, after he had ruled the church of St. Alban Death of 
for about fifteen years, and had commendably observed the 
monastic rule, with rigor of discipline and justice, in the year 
of grace 1183 paid the debt of nature and entered the way of 
all flesh. . . . 

The next abbot but one was John, who was a great 
builder, increasing the abbey buildings, especially with 
living rooms for the monks and guests of the abbey. He 
also rebuilt its mills, and attended to other matters more 
closely connected with its secular than its religious life. 

In the fifth year of his rule as prelate he made a law that Actions of 
the number of the brethren should in no case exceed one hun- ^^"^"^^ J°h" 
dred, unless a certain person was worthy to be received on 
account of eminence of dignity or learning, or on the peti- 
tion of some powerful person who could not be denied with- 
out serious injury. . . . 

Likewise he built a very fine hall for the use of the guests, Rooms with 
with several sleeping apartments adjoining. One very finely r \"^^ . 
ornamented suite may be mentioned, with dining room and fireplaces 
fireplace, with a room and hall adjoining which is called the 
"royal palace " because it is double. It was also furnished with 
vaults. There is a very beautiful hall at the entrance, which 
is called "the portico" or " oriolum," and several sleeping 
chambers for the reception of guests, very beautiful indeed, 
together with dining rooms and fireplaces. The hall which was 
formerly built in the same place had fallen into gloomy and 
unsightly ruins, with its old walls tumbling down. It had then 
been covered and patched on the roofs and sides. The same 
abbot caused the new hall, of which we shall speak presently, 
with its chapels and outhouses, to be covered with lead. Be- 
sides this he caused it to be painted and delicately decorated, 



200 



Readings in English History 



A house for 
the monks, 
and houses to 
rent as an 
investment 
at London 



A horse mill 
added to the 
water mill 



The monks' 
ale made 
stronger 



together with the chamber next to it, by the hand of Richard, 
our monk, a most excellent workman. 

This same abbot built opposite the large gate a beautiful 
house ; this was long, made of stone, and covered with tiles ; 
in it there were three fireplaces, and by its appearance the whole 
court was made more beautiful. Inasmuch as this house had 
a double court, the upper part was considered best suited for the 
higher officials of the abbot, the lower part for the pantry. . . . 

He acquired for us an establishment at London where cer- 
tain houses had fallen in ruins ; this was next to the houses 
which his predecessor, Abbot William, had bought there ; there 
he erected new houses and raised the rents. He likewise bought 
for us land which had belonged to John Astmer. For the grant- 
ing of these, the abbot gave by charter the necessaries of life 
to this same John, who was to wait upon him. 

Inasmuch as the water supply failed our water mill, which 
was built next to the alehouse ; and sometimes on account of 
the tangle of reeds which choked the stream, sometimes in the 
summer on account of the hot, dry season, there was not a suffi- 
ciency of water for the use of all the buildings, this same Abbot 
John constructed a very fine horse mill next to the alehouse. 
It would have been necessary otherwise to prepare for the grind- 
ing of seven thousand bushels of grain, which would have been 
difficult and injurious. In the construction and the repairing of 
these mills he is believed to have paid out more than ;^ioo. 

The above-mentioned Abbot John has greatly improved our 
ale, which as well to our injury as to our shame had shown it- 
self poor beyond measure, by adding to it about eight thousand 
bushels of grain suitable for ale, that is, a mixture of barley and 
wheat, which is commonly called brase. . . . 

He devoutly presented also to the church two sets of the 
Decretals for the bookcase ; epitomes also of Raymond, Godfrey, 
and Bernard on the Decretals, and, written in his own hand, 
one book in which are contained Seneca and his speeches, to- 
gether with many other books and booklets. 



A very full and interesting description of the abbey 
of St. Edmunds, situated in Suffolk, about sixty miles 



Edmunds 



TJic Formation of a United English Nation 201 

northeast of London, is found in the history of the 
abbey written by one of its monks, JoceHn of Brake- 
lond. This account is the source of Carlyle's Past and 
Present. The debts to the Jews, the disputes with the 
Londoners about toll, and such questions make up the 
staple of the narrative. Most of it falls within the stormy 
administration of Abbot Sampson, which covered a period 
of more than thirty years. 

There was but one resource and relief to the abbot, and 118. Joceiinof 
that was to borrow money on interest, so that thereby he ^rakeiond's 
• Till- 1 1 T • r T • narrative of 

might be able m some measure to keep up the dignity 01 his occurrences 

house. There befell not a term of Easter or St. Michael, for at St. 
eight years before his decease, but that the principal of our 
debt increased one or two hundred pounds at least ; the secu- 
rities were always renewed, and the interest which accrued was 
converted into principal. This laxity descended from the head 
to the members, from the superior to the subjects. Hence it 
came to pass that every official of the house had a seal of his 
own, and bound himself in debts at his own pleasure, to Jews 
as well as to Christians. Oftentimes silken caps, and golden Carelessly 
phials, and other ornaments of the church were pledged with- 
out the knowledge of the convent. I myself saw a security 
passed to William Fitzisabel for one thousand and forty 
pounds, but I never could learn the consideration or the 
cause. I also saw another security passed to Isaac, the son 
of Rabbi Jocee, for four hundred pounds, but I knew not 
wherefore. 

I saw a third security passed to Benedict the Jew, of Nor- 
wich, for eight hundred and fourscore pounds. This was the 
origin of that debt : our parlor was destroyed, and it was given 
in charge to William, the sacrist, without any choice on his 
part, that he should restore it. He privily borrowed from Bene- 
dict the Jew forty marks at interest, and gave him a security, 
sealed with a certain seal which used to hang at the shrine of 
St. Edmund, wherewith the gilds and fraternities were wont to 
be sealed. This seal at last, but in no great haste, was broken 



contracted 
debts 



202 Readings in EnglisJi History 

by order of the convent. Now when that debt had increased 
to one hundred pounds, the Jew came, bearing the precept of 
our lord the king touching this debt of the sacrist ; and then 
it was that all that had been secret from the abbot and convent 
was laid open. . . . 
A description Abbot Sampson was of middle stature, nearly bald, having 
of Abbot jj f^(,g neither round nor vet long, a prominent nose, thick 

Sampson ,. , i • • ' r i • <■ 

(iiSo-i2ii^ lips, clear and very piercmg eyes, ears of the nicest sense of 
hearing, bushy eyebrows often cut; and he quickly became 
hoarse from short exposure to cold. On the day of his election 
he was forty and seven years old, and had been a monk seven- 
teen years. He had a few gray hairs in a reddish beard, and 
just a few more, which were somewhat curly, among the black 
ones on his head ; but within fourteen years after his election 
it all became white as snow. He was an extremely temperate 
man, never slothful, well able and willing to ride and walk, till 
old age gained upon him and moderated such inclination. On 
hearing the news of the cross being captive, and the loss of 
Jerusalem, he began to use under-garments of horsehair and 
a horsehair shirt, and to abstain from flesh and flesh meats ; 
nevertheless he desired that meats should be placed before 
him while at table, for the increase of the alms dish. Sweet 
milk, honey, and such like sweet things he ate with greater 
appetite than other food. He abhorred liars, drunkards, and 
talkative folk ; for virtue ever is consistent with itself and dis- 
likes contraries- 
He also much condemned persons given to murmur at their 
meat or drink, and particularly monks who were dissatisfied 
therewith, himself adhering to the uniform course he had prac- 
ticed when a mere monk ; he had likewise this virtue, that he 
never changed the meat you set before him. Once when I, 
then a novice, happened to serve in the refectory, it came 
into my head to ascertain if this were true, and I thought I 
would place before him a mess which would have displeased 
any other but him, being served in a very black and broken 
dish. But when he had looked at it, he was as one who saw it 
not. Some delay taking place, I felt sorry that I had done so, 
and so snatching away the dish I changed the meat and the 



The I'orniation of a United English Nation 203 

dish for a better, and brought it to him ; but this substitution 
he took in ill part, and was angry with me for it. 

An eloquent man was he, both in French and Latin, but in- Abbot Samp- 
tent more on the substance and method of what was to be ^"^"^ knowl- 

cdfiTC of 

said than on the style of words. He could read English manu- languages 
script very critically, and was wont to preach to the people in 
English, but in the dialect of Norfolk, where he was born and 
bred ; wherefore he caused a pulpit to be set up in the church 
for the advantage of the hearers, and for the ornament of the 
church. The abbot also seemed to prefer an active life to one 
of contemplation, and rather commended good officials than 
good monks. He very seldom approved of any one on account 
of his literary acquirements, unless he also possessed sufficient 
knowledge of secular matters ; and whenever he chanced to 
hear that any prelate had resigned his pastoral care and be- 
come an anchorite, he did not praise him for it. He never 
applauded men of too complying a disposition, saying, "He 
who endeavors to please all is like to please none." 

The merchants of London claimed to be quit of toll at the The fair at 
fair of St. Edmund ; nevertheless many paid it, unwillingly in- ^*- Edmunds- 
deed, and under compulsion ; wherefore a great tumult and 
commotion was made among the citizens of London in their 
hustings. However, they came in a body and informed Abbot 
Sampson that they were entitled to be quit of toll throughout 
all England, by authority of the charter which they had from 
King Henry the Second. Whereto the abbot answered that were 
it necessary he was well able to vouch the king to warranty, 
that he had never granted them any charter to the prejudice 
of our church, nor to the prejudice of the liberties of St. 
Edmund, to whom St. Edward had granted and confirmed toll 
and team and all regalities before the conquest of England ; 
and that King Henry had done no more than give to the Lon- 
doners an exemption from toll throughout his own lordships, 
and in places where he was able to grant it ; but so far as con- 
cerned the town of St. Edmund he was not able so to do, for 
it was not his to dispose of. The Londoners, hearing this, 
ordered by common council that no one of them should go 
to the fair of St. Edmund ; and for two years they kept away. 



204 Readings in English History 

whereby our fair sustained much loss. At last, upon the medi- 
ation of the bishop of London and many others, it was settled 
between us and them, that they should come to the fair, and 
that some of them should pay toll, but that it should be forth- 
with returned to them, so that by such a dissembled act the 
privilege on both sides should be preserved. 

But in process of time, when the abbot had made agreement 
with his knights, and, as it were, slept in tranquillity, behold 
again " the Philistines be upon thee, Sampson ! " Lo, the Lon- 
doners, with one voice, were threatening that they would lay 
level with the earth the stone houses which the abbot had built 
that very year, or that they would take distress by a hundred- 
fold from the men of St. Edmund, unless the abbot forthwith 
redressed the wrong done them by the bailiffs of the town of 
St. Edmund. These had taken fifteen pence from the carts of 
the citizens of London, who on their way from Yarmouth, laden 
with herring, had made passage through our demesnes. Further- 
more the citizens of London said that they were quit of toll in 
every market, and on every occasion, and in every place through- 
out all England, from the time when Rome was first founded, 
and that London was founded at the very same time. Also that 
they ought to have such an exemption throughout all England, 
as well by reason of its being a privileged city, which was of 
old time the metropolis and head of the kingdom, as by reason 
of its antiquity. But the abbot sought reasonable postpone- 
ments thereupon, until the return of our lord the king of England, 
that he might consult with him upon this ; and having taken 
advice of the lawyers, he returned to the claimants those fifteen 
pence, without prejudice to the question of each party's rights. 

The greater rigidity of the Cistercian rule appears 
from the following account of the foundation of that 
order. It was established at Citeaux in France, whence 
the name of the order is drawn, a generation after the 
Norman Conquest, and by the thirteenth century had 
a number of monasteries in England, almost equaling 
the older Benedictine houses in extent and influence. 



The Formatioji of a United English Nation 205 

At this time began the Cistercian order, which is now both 119. How 
behaved and asserted to be the surest road to heaven. To ^^^ English- 
speak of this does not seem irrelevant to the work I have pitz-Hardine 
undertaken, since it redounds to the glory of England to have helped to 
produced the distinguished man who was the author and !? "°^ *^^ 
promoter of that rule. To us he belonged, and in our schools Order 
passed the earlier part of his life. Wherefore, if we are not en- 
vious, we shall embrace his good qualities the more kindly, 
in proportion as we knew them more intimately. And, more- 
over, I am anxious to extol his praise, because it is a mark of 
an ingenuous mind to approve that virtue in others, of which 
in yourself you regret the absence. He was named Harding, 
and born in England of no very illustrious parents. From his 
early years he was a monk at Sherborne ; but when secular 
desires had captivated his youth he grew disgusted with the 
monastic garb, and went first to Scotland and afterwards to 
France. Here, after some years' exercise in the liberal arts, he 
was reawakened to the love of God. For he went to Rome 
with a clerk who partook of his studies; neither the length 
and difificulty of the journey, nor the scantiness of their means 
of subsistence by the way, preventing them, both as they went 
and returned, from singing daily the whole psalter. 

Indeed the mind of this celebrated man was already medi- Fitz-Hard- 
tating the design which soon after, by the grace of God, he i"g '^^^ss the 
attempted to put in execution. For returning into Burgundy, he ^ows but" 
was tonsured at Molemes, a new and magnificent monastery, questions the 
Here he readily admitted the first elements of the order, as divergences 
he had formerly seen them ; but when additional matters were 
proposed for his observance, such as he had neither read in 
the' Benedictine rule nor seen elsewhere, he began, modestly 
and as became a monk, to ask the reason of them. . . . 

The subject, then, being canvassed in frequent chapters, Determina- 
ended by bringing over the abbot himself to the opinion that *'°" *° return 
all superfluous matters should be passed by, and merely the q° ^he Bene- 
essence of the rule be scrutinized. Twoof the fraternity, there- dictine rule 
fore, of equal faith and learning, were elected, who, by vicari- 
ous examination, were to discover the intention of the founder's 
rule ; and when they had discovered it, to propound it to the 



2o6 Readings in English Histo?y 

rest. The abbot diligently endeavored to induce the whole 
convent to give their concurrence, but as it is difficult to erad- 
icate from men's minds what has early taken root, since they 
reluctantly relinquish the first notions they have imbibed, al- 
most the whole of them refused to accept the new regulations, 
because they were attached to the old. Eighteen only, among 
whom was Harding, otherwise called Stephen, persevering in 
their holy determination, together with their abbot, left the 
monastery, declaring that the purity of the institution could 
not be preserved in a place where riches and gluttony warred 
against even the heart that was well inclined. They came 
therefore to Citeaux, a situation formerly covered with woods, 
but now so conspicuous from the abundant piety of its monks, 
that it is not undeservedly esteemed blessed by the Divinity 
himself. Here, by the countenance of the archbishop of Vienne, 
who is now pope, they entered on a labor worthy to be remem- 
bered and venerated to the end of time. 
Severity of Certainly many of their regulations seem severe, and more 
particularly these : they wear nothing made with furs or linen, 
nor even that finely spun linen garment which we call stami?i- 
iian : neither breeches, unless when sent on a journey, which 
at their return they wash and restore. They have two tunics 
with cowls, but no additional garments in winter, though, if 
they think fit, in summer they may lighten their garb. They 
sleep clad and girded, and never after matins return to their 
beds ; but they so order the time of matins that it shall be 
light ere the lauds begin. So intent are they on their rule 
that they think no jot or tittle of it should be disregarded. 
Directly after these hymns they sing the prime, after which 
they go out to work for stated hours. They complete what- 
ever labor or service they have to perform by day without any 
other- light. No one is ever absent from daily services or from 
complines except the sick. The cellarer and hospitaller, after 
complines, wait upon the guests, yet observing the strictest 
silence. The abbot allows himself no indulgence beyond the 
others. He is everywhere present, everywhere attending to 
his flock ; except that he does not eat with the rest, because 
his table is with the strangers and the poor. Nevertheless, be 



the Cister 
cian rule 



The Formation of a United English Nation 207 

he where he may, he is equally sparing of food and of speech ; 
for never more than two dishes are served either to him or to 
his company ; butter and meat never but to the sick. 

From the Ides of September till Easter they do not take 
more than one meal a day, no matter what festival it may be, 
except on Sunday. They never leave the cloister but for the 
purpose of labor, nor do they ever speak, either there or else- 
where, save only to the abbot of prior. They pay unwearied 
attention to the canonical services, making no addition to them 
except the vigil for the dead. They use in their divine service 
the Ambrosian chants and hymns, as far as they have been able 
to learn them at Milan, While they bestow care on the stranger 
and the sick, they inflict intolerable mortifications on their own 
bodies, for the health of their souls. 

The abbot at first both endured these privations with much The first 
alacrity himself and compelled the rest to do the same. In ^^"^"^ ^"'^ 
process of time, however, the man repented ; he had been half the 
delicately brought up, and could not well bear such continued monks return 
scantiness of diet. The monks, whom he had left at Molemes, ^ , tu 

' _ ' old abbey 

getting scent of this disposition either by messages or letters, 
for it is uncertain which, drew him back to the monastery by 
his obedience to the pope, for such was their pretext, com- 
pelling him to a measure to which he was already extremely 
well disposed. For, as if wearied out by the pertinacity of their 
entreaties, he left the narrow confines of poverty and sought 
again his former magnificence. All followed him from Citeaux 
who had gone thither with him, except eight. These, few in 
number but great in virtue, appointed Alberic, one of their 
party, abbot, and Stephen prior. 

The former, not surviving more than eight years, was, at the 
will of heaven, happily called away. Then, doubtless by God's 
appointment, Stephen, though absent, was elected abbot, — the 
original contriver of the whole scheme, the especial and cele- 
brated ornament of our times. Sixteen abbeys which he has 
already completed, and seven which he has begun, are suffi- 
cient testimonies of his abundant merit. . . . The Cistercian 
monks at the present day are a model for all monks, a mirror 
for the diligent, a spur to the indolent. 



2o8 Readings in English History 

III. Towns and Gilds 

The period in which most of the large towns obtained 
their first charters was during the reigns of Henry II, 
Richard, and John ; but it was during the period covered 
by this chapter, the thirteenth and early fourteenth cen- 
turies, that they first became really important. Each 
city or borough of any size in England had a charter, 
somewhat like that of Lincoln, which is here given, 
granting or confirming to it various rights and privi- 
leges of self-government. 

120. Charter Henry, by the grace of God king of England, duke of 
of the city Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, to the bishop of 
Lincoln, justiciars, sheriffs, barons, officers, and all his faithful, 
French and English, of Lincoln, greeting. Know that I have 
conceded to my citizens of Lincoln all their liberties and cus- 
toms and laws, which they had in the time of Edward and 
William and Henry, kings of England ; and their gild mer- 
chant of the men of the city and of other merchants of the 
courity, just as they had it in the time of our aforesaid pred- 
ecessors, kings of England, best and most freely. And all 
men who dwell within the four divisions of the city and attend 
the market are to be at the gilds and customs and assizes of 
the city as they have been best in the time of Edward, William, 
and Henry, kings of England. I grant to them, moreover, that 
if any one shall buy any land within the city, of the burgage of 
Lincoln, and shall have held it for a year and a day without 
any claim, and he who has bought it is able to show that the 
claimant has been in the land of England within the year and 
has not claimed it, for the future as before he shall hold it well 
and in peace, and without any prosecution. I confirm also to 
them, that if any one shall have remained in the city of Lincoln 
for a year and a day without claim on the part of any claimant, 
and has given the customs, and is able to show by the laws and 
customs of the city that the claimant has been in the land of 
England and has not made a claim against him, for the future 



The Formation of a United English Nation 209 

as in the past he shall remain in peace, in my city of Lin- 
coln, as my citizen. Witnesses, E., bishop of Lisieux ; Thomas, 
chancellor; H., constable; Henry of Essex, constable. At 
Nottingham. 

The early craft gilds seldom had charters. Bodies of 
rules or ordinances were drawn up by their leading mem- 
bers, approved by the town authorities, and became the 
basis of their legal existence. These were added to or 
changed from time to time. The ordinances of the spur 
makers, here given, are fairly representative of the rules 
of a vast number of such organized trades in London 
and other cities and towns. 

Be it remembered that on Tuesday, the morrow of St. Peter's 121. Ordi- 

Chains, in the nineteenth year of the reign of King Edward III, '^'^'^^s of the 
■ 1 1 • 1 1 r T 1 TT J spur makers 

the articles underwritten were read before John Hammond, of London 

mayor, Roger de Depham, recorder, and the other aldermen ; (1345) 

and seeing that the same were deemed befitting, they were 

accepted and enrolled in these words. 

In the first place, that no one of the trade of spurriers No night 
shall work longer than from the beginning of the day until ^'°'^'^ 
curfew rung out at the church of St. Sepulcher, without New- 
gate ; by reason that no man can work so neatly by night as 
by day. And many persons of the said trade, who compass 
how to practice deception in their work, desire to work by 
night rather than by day ; and then they introduce false iron, 
and iron that has been cracked, for tin, and also they put gilt 
on false copper, and cracked. And further, many of the said 
trade are wandering about all day, without working at all at 
their trade ; and then, when they have become drunk and fran- 
tic, they take to their work, to the annoyance of the sick, and 
all their neighborhood, by reason of the broils that arise between 
them and the strange folks who are dwelling among them. 

And then they proceed to blow up their fires so vigorously 
that their forges begin all at once to blaze, to the great peril 
of themselves and of all the neighborhood around. And then, 



210 



Readings in English History 



No public 
selling on 
Sunday 



too, all the neighbors are much in dread of the sparks, which 
so vigorously issue forth in all directions from the mouths of 
the chimneys in their forges. By reason thereof it seems best 
that working by night should be put an end to, in order to 
avoid such false work and such perils ; and therefore the 
mayor and the aldermen do will, by the assent of the good 
folks of the said trade, and for the common profit, that from 
henceforth such time for working, and such false work made 
in the trade, shall be forbidden. And if any person shall be 
found in the said trade to do the contrary hereof, let him be 
amerced, the first time in 40^/., one half thereof to go to the use 
of the Chamber of the Guildhall of London, and the other half 
to the use of the said trade ; the second time, in half a mark, 
and the third time in \os., to the use of the same Chamber and 
trade ; and the fourth time, let him forswear the trade forever. 

Also that no one of the said trade shall hang his spurs out 
on Sundays, or any other days that are double feasts ; but only 
a sign indicating his business ; and such spurs as they shall so 
sell they are to show and sell within their shops, without ex- 
posing them without, or opening the doors or windows of their 
shops, on the pain aforesaid. 

Also, that no one of the said trade shall keep a house or 
shop to carry on his business, unless he is free of the city ; 
and that no one shall cause to be sold, or exposed for sale, 
any manner of old spurs for new ones, or shall garnish them or 
change them for new ones. 

Also, that no one of the said trade shall take an apprentice 
ship for seven fQj- ^ ]gsg term than seven years, and such apprentice shall be 
enrolled according to the usages of the said city. 

Also, that if any one of the said trade, who is not a freeman, 
shall take an apprentice for a term of years, he shall be amerced 
as aforesaid. 

Also, that no one of the said trade shall receive the appren- 
tice, serving man, or journeyman of another in the same trade, 
during the term agreed upon between his master and him, on 
the pain aforesaid. 

Also, that no alien of another country, or foreigner of this 
country, shall follow or use the said trade, unless he is enfran- 



Apprentice- 



The Formation of a United EnglisJi Nation 211 

chised before the mayor, alderman, and chamberlain ; and that, 
by witness and surety of the good folks of the said trade, who 
will midertake for him, as to his loyalty and his good behavior. 
Also, that no one of the said trade shall work on Saturdays, 
after noon has been rung out in the city ; and not from that 
hour until the Monday morning following. 

The more charitable side of the craft gilds comes out 
in the following extracts from the ordinances of the 
white-leather dressers. 

In honor of God, of Our Lady, and of all saints, and for 122. Extracts 

the nurture of tranquillity and peace among the good folks, the ^"^""^ *^® 

11 1 1 • 1 <• 11 r 1 1 ordinances of 

megucers, called white-tawyers, the folks of the same trade the white- 
have, by assent of Richard Lacer, mayor, and of the alder- leather 

men, ordained the points underwritten. dressers of 

' ^ London 

In the first place, they have ordained that they will find a (1346) 

wax candle, to burn before Our Lady in the church of Allhal- 

lows, near London wall. 

Also, that each person of the said trade shall put in the box 
such sum as he shall think fit, in aid of maintaining the said 
candle. 

Also, if by chance any one of the said trade shall fall into 
poverty, whether through old age or because he cannot labor 
or work, and have nothing with which to keep himself, he shall 
have every week from the said box 7 d. for his support, if he be 
a man of good repute. And after his decease, if he have a wife, 
a woman of good repute, she shall have weekly for her support 
id. from the said box, so long as she shall behave herself well 
and keep single. . . . 

And if any one of the said trade shall have work in his house 
that he cannot complete, or if for want of assistance such work 
shall be in danger of being lost, those of the said trade shall 
aid him, that so the said work be not lost. 

And if any one of the said trade shall depart this life, and 
have not wherewithal to be buried, he shall be buried at the 
expense of their common box. And when any one of the said 
trade shall die, all those of the said trade shall go to the vigil 
and make offering on the morrow. . . . 



212 Readings in English History 

IV. Rural Life 

A fair idea of what the possessions and rights of the 
lord of a manor consisted in can be gained from the fol- 
lowing survey or "extent "of the little village of Borley, 
in Essex, consisting of seven free tenants and thirty-nine 
small farmers and cotters who were in serfdom. The lord 
of the manor was, at the time of this survey, the king, 
though shortly before this time the manor had belonged 
to a lady, Isabella de Fortibus, and shortly afterward it 
was given by tTie king to the cathedral of Canterbury. 

123. Survey Extent of the manor of Borley made there on Tuesday next 

°^''^^*®°*" after the feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle, a.d. 1308, in 
of the manor ^ >j > 

of Borley the first year of the reign of Kmg Edward, son of King Edward, 

(1308) in the presence of John le Doo, steward, by the hands of 

William of Folesham, clerk, on the oath of Philip, the reeve 
of Borley, Henry Lambert, Dennis Rolf, Richard at Mere, 
Walter Johan and Robert Ernald, tenants of the lord in the 
said vill of Borley. These all, having been sworn, declare that 
there is there one mansion well and suitably built ; that it is 
sufficient for the products of the manor, and that it contains 
in itself, within the site of the manor, four acres, by estimation. 
The grass there is worth yearly, by estimation, 2 s ; and the 
pasturage there is worth yearly 1 2 d., sometimes more and some- 
times less, according to its value. And the fruit garden there 
is worth yearly, in apples and grapes, perhaps 5 s. and some- 
times more. Total, ^s. 

The church And it is to be kno\vn that the lord is the true patron of 

the church of Borley, and the said church is worth yearly, 
according to assessment, in grains, in offerings, in dues, and 
in other small tithes, ^10. 

The mill And there is one water mill in the manor, and it is worth 

yearly on lease 60^. And the fish pond in the mill dam, with 
the catch of eels from the race, is worth yearly, by estimation, 
12 d. Total, 6\s. 



The Formation of a United Englisji Nation 213 

There is there a wood called le Hoo, which contains ten acres, The woods 
and the underbrush from it is worth yearly, without waste, 5 s. ; 
and the grass from it is worth yearly 5 s. ; and the feeding of 
swine there is worth yearly 12 d. And there is there a certain 
other wood called Chalvecroft, which contains, with the ditches, 
five acres. And the herbage there is worth yearly 2s.t>d.; and 
the underbrush there is worth 3 jr. ; and the feeding of swine 
there is worth yearly 6 d. Total value, 1 7 j". 

There are there, of arable land in demesne, in different The home 
fields, 300 acres of land, by the smaller hundred. And it is ^^™'' 
worth yearly, on lease, j£,\Si at the price of \2d. per acre. 
Total acreage, 300. Total value, ^15. 

And it is to be known that the perch of land in that manor 
contains 16^ feet, in measuring land. And each acre can be 
sown suitably with 2\ bushels of wheat, with 2\ bushels of rye, 
with 2\ bushels of peas, with 3 bushels of oats, and this sown 
broadcast, and with 4 bushels of barley, even measure. And 
each plow should be joined with 4 oxen and 4 draught horses. 
And a plow is commonly able to plow an acre of land a 
day, and sometimes more. 

There are likewise of mowing meadow in various places 29 The meadow 
acres and i rood. This is worth yearly ^'] ds. 3^., at ^s. an 
acre. Total acreage, 29 A., i R. Total of pence, ^^7 ds. 2,d. 

There are likewise of inclosed pasture 28 acres, and this 
is worth yearly 42 s. at 18^/. per acre. Of this sixteen acres are 
assigned to the dairy for the cows, and twelve for the oxen and 
young bullocks. Total, 42 i^. 

It is to be known that the lord may have in the common The common 
pasture of Borley, along with the use of the fresh meadows and Pasture 
of the demesnes of the lord, in the open time, 100 sheep, by 
the greater hundred. And their pasture, per head, is worth 2 d. 
yearly, and not more, on account of the allowance of food to 
the shepherd. Total, 20 i". 

There is there likewise a certain court of free tenants of The court 
the lord and of the customary tenants, meeting every three '^^™" ^""^ 

1 . T 1 ^ 1 • • , r -11 customary 

weeks. And the fines and perquisites thence, along with the ^^^^^ 
view of frank pledge, are worth 20s. a year. . . . 



214 



Readings in English History 



There are, moreover, of the services of the aforesaid cus- 
tomary tenants 22^ tasks, of which each task requires plowing 
upon the land of the lord at different seasons. And a task at 
the convenience of the lord at all plantings is worth 10^^/. 
Total, 19^. 2)\d. 

There are, moreover, of the autumn works of the aforesaid 
customary tenants from the first of August to the feast of 
St. Michael, 424 days' work, the price of each day's work 
being 2 d. Total, 4 1 j". 2 d. 
Total value The sum of the total value, according to the extent, is ^43 
1 9 J-. %d. 

Likewise from Reginald Crummelond 10 s. yearly, discovered 
after the extent was made up, as above. From which should 
be subtracted 7 d. rent owed to Lady Felicia, of Sender, yearly 
for a certain meadow called Baselymede, near Radbridge. 
There remains ;^43 18^. Sf^., plus loi-. as above. 
Court leet And it is to be known that the lord prior of Christ Church 
of Canterbury has his liberty in the vill of Borley ; and he has 
jurisdiction over thieves caught on the manor and tenants of 
the manor taken outside with stolen goods in their hands or 
on their backs. And the judicial gallows of this franchise stand 
and ought to stand at Radbridge. And now let us inquire con- 
cerning the pillory and tumbrel. It is reported by the jury 
that it ought to stand beyond the outer gates toward the west, 
next to the pigstye of the lord. 

And it is to be remembered that as often as it is necessary 
for the reeve and four men to be present before the justices 
in eyre or anywhere else, that is to say, at the jail delivery of 
our lord, the king, or wheresoever it may be, the lord ought 
to find two men at his expense before the same justices ; and 
the villagers of Borley will find three men at their expense ; 
and this according to custom from a time to which, as it is 
said, memory does not extend. 
Heriot And it is to be known that when any customary tenant of 

the land in that manor dies, the lord will have as a heriot the 
best beast of that tenant found at the time of his death. And 
if he did not have a beast, he shall give to the lord for a heriot 
2s. 6d. And the heir shall make a fine to the lord for the 



The Formation of a United English Nation 215 

tenement which was his father's, if it shall seem to be expedi- 
ent to him, but, if not, he shall have nothing. Nevertheless, to 
the wife of the deceased tenant shall be saved the whole of 
the tenement which was her husband's on the day he died, to 
be held of the lord as her free bench till the end of her life, 
if she shall remain without a husband, and on performing the 
services due and customary thence to the lord. If, however, 
through the license of the lord, she shall have married, the 
heirs of the aforesaid deceased shall enter upon the aforesaid 
tenement by the license of the lord, and shall give one half of 
the said tenement to the widow of the said deceased as dowry. 

The burdensome services of an ordinary villein tenant 
or small farmer are shown in the following statement of the 
duties of a typical man of this class on a manor in Sussex. 

John of Cay worth holds a house and thirty acres of land, 124. Services 

and owes yearly 2 s. at Easter and Michaelmas ; and he owes a °^ ^ viiiem 

111 ^, • r 1 1 f 7 on the manor 

cock and two hens at Christmas, of the value of 4 a. of Beme- 

And he ought to harrow for two days at the Lenten sowing home, Sus- 
with one man and his own horse and his own harrow, the value ^^^ (^307) 
of the work being 4 d. ; and he is to receive from the lord on 
each day three meals, of the value of 5 d., and then the lord 
will be at a loss of i d. Thus his harrowing is of no value to 
the service of the lord. 

And he ought to carry the manure of the lord for two days 
with one cart, with his own two oxen, the value of the work 
being 8^.; and he is to receive from the lord each day three 
meals of the price as above. And thus the service is worth 
2,d. clear. 

And he shall find one man for two days for mowing the 
meadow of the lord, who can mow, by estimation, one acre and 
a half, the value of the mowing of an acre being 6d. ; the sum is 
therefore 9 d., and he is to receive each day three meals of the 
value given above ; and thus that mowing is worth 4^. clear. 

And he ought to gather and carry that same hay which he 
has cut, the price of the work being 3^. 

And he shall have from the lord two meals for one man, of 
the value of i ^ d. Thus the work will be worth i ^ d. clear. 



2i6 Readings in English History 

And he ought to carry the hay of the lord for one day with 
a cart and three animals of his own, the price of the work 
being dd. And he shall have from the lord three meals of the 
value of 2\d. And thus the work is worth 3i d. clear. 

And he ought to carry in autumn beans or oats for two days 
with a cart and three animals of his own, the value of a work 
being \2d. And he shall receive from the lord each day three 
meals of the value given above ; and thus the work is worth 
7 d. clear. 

And he ought to carry wood from the woods of the lord as 
far as the manor house for two days in summer with a cart and 
three animals of his own, the value of the work being 9 d. And 
he shall receive from the lord each day three meals of the price 
given above, and thus the work is worth ^d. clear. 

And he ought to find one man for two days to cut heath, 
the value of the work being 4 d., and he shall have three meals 
each day of the value given above ; and thus the lord will lose, 
if he receives the service, 3 d. Thus that mowing is worth noth- 
ing to the service of the lord. 

And he ought to carry the heath which he has cut, the value 
of the day's work being 5 d. And he shall receive from the 
lord three meals at the price of 2\d. And thus the work will 
be worth 2\d. clear. 

And he ought to carry to Battle twice in the summer season, 
each time half a load of grain, the value of the service being 
4 d. And he shall receive in the manor each time one meal of the 
value of 2 d. And thus the work is worth 2 d. clear. 

The total of the rents, with the value of the hens, is 2 j-. 4 d. 

The total of the value of the works is 2 s. 3^^.; owed from 
the said John yearly. 

William of Cayworth holds a house and 30 acres of land and 
owes at Easter and Michaelmas 2 s. rent. And he shall do all 
customs just as the aforesaid John of Cayworth. . . . 
Customs of And it is to be noted that none of the above-named villeins 
can give their daughters in marriage nor cause their sons to be 
tonsured, nor can they cut down timber growing on the lands 
they hold, without license of the bailifif or sergeant of the lord, 
and then for building purposes and not otherwise. And after 



the manor 



The Formation of a United English Nation 217 

the death of any one of the aforesaid villeins the lord shall have 
as a heriot his best animal, if he had any ; if, however, he have 
no living beast, they say that the lord shall have no heriot. The 
sons or daughters of the aforesaid villeins shall give for entrance 
into the holding after thp death of their predecessors as much 
as they give of rent per year. 

V. Conflicts between Henry III and the Barons 

The following writ or order from the king is an exam- 
ple of the form of summons which was regularly sent 
out at this time to all the nobles and great churchmen, 
ordering them to attend a Great Council. 

The king to his beloved and faithful relative, Edmund, earl 125. Sum- 
of Cornwall, greeting. Because we wish to have a consultation ^o^is of a 
and meeting with you and with the rest of the principal men Great 
of our kingdom, as to provision for remedies against the dan- Council 
gers which in these days are threatening our whole kingdom ; 
we command you, strictly enjoining you in the fidelity and 
love in which you are bound to us, that on the Lord's day next 
after the feast of St. Martin, in the approaching winter, you be 
present in person at Westminster, for considering, ordaining, 
and doing, along with us and with the prelates and the rest of 
the principal men and other inhabitants of our kingdom, as 
may be necessary for meeting dangers of this kind. 

Witness the king at Canterbury, the first of October. 

Matthew Paris, the St. Albans chronicler, gives the 
following outspoken account of one of the turbulent 
meetings of the Great Council in the time of Henry III. 
Such occurrepces, with their unseemly quarrels, explain 
the final outbreak of civil war, at the same time that 
they show the gradual growth of the claims of the Great 
Councils, whith developed into parliament. 



On the day 



of the Purification of the Blessed Virsjin the 



nobility of all England, the prelates as well as the earls and 



2l8 



Readings in English History 



The demand 
of the king 
for money 



126. A Great barons, gathered at London in accordance with a royal edict. 

Council in Inasmuch as they knew that the king had summoned them 
seriously and had wearied them so often in this way with com- 
plaints, they determined by oath and under penalty of excom- 
munication that no one in the Council should in any way 
consent to allow the king to extort money. It had become 
known to all that although the Count de la Marche was press- 
ing the king to cross the Channel, bringing with him whatever 
treasure he could collect, he did not care for the English army, 
and had always looked down on the soldiery, as well as the 
strength of the kingdom and its loyalty, considering the king 
himself merely an instrument, whose money he wished to have. 
Because of this the English were justly aroused against the 
count and all his Poitevins, and they no longer looked upon 
the king with favorable eye, since he agreed to such things 
without the sanction of his nobles. 

Therefore when the )cing publicly and positively set forth 
the design of his heart concerning his expedition and the 
summons of the Count de la Marche, and with arguments 
demanded aid in money, the magnates replied with great 
bitterness of feeling that he had without advice planned such 
things, and had made shameless and imprudent demands from 
them, harassing and impoverishing his faithful followers very 
often, exacting tribute as if from slaves of lowest condition, 
often wresting from them great sums of money, to be use- 
lessly spent. And so they refused the king to his face, being 
unwilling to be farther stripped for nothing. Therefore the king, 
employing the ingenious trickery of the Romans, ordered that 
they should wait until the following day for their desire about 
this thing and should in the meantime attend to other things. 
The next day he summoned singly to his secret chamber 
now this one, now that one, as a priest summoning penitents 
to confession. In this way he craftily attempted to weaken 
separately the individuals whom he was unable to move when 
together, and begged pecuniary aid from them, saying, " Just 
see what that abbot has given to me as a subsidy, and what 
another," and he stretched out his roll on which he showed 
written what that abbot or prior promised he would give, so 



The king 
tries individ- 
ual persuasion 



TJie Formation of a United English Action 219 

much or so much ; and yet not one of these had given his 
assent, nor had it come to the knowledge of this person. 
With these false examples and with intricacies of speech the 
king entangled as many as possible. Nevertheless many re- 
mained obdurate, wishing in no way to withdraw from the 
common decision to which they had agreed. To these the 
king said in anger : " Shall I then prove false? I have sworn 
by an oath which cannot be broken to cross over the sea and 
demand my rights from the king of France with a stretched- 
out arm, and I shall by no means be able to do this thing 
without an abundance of money, which must proceed from 
your liberality." 

There were still some whom he was unable by these and An especial 
other words to win over, although, as has been said above, he ^PP^ai to the 
summoned each one to him separately. Moreover, he again 
called to him some who were at one time rather friendly to 
him and addressed them as follows : " What baleful example 
are you furnishing to others ? You who are earls and barons 
and brave knights ought not to fear, although some do feel 
timid, namely the prelates of the church. You ought to be 
more eager than the rest to demand back the rights of the 
kingdom and to try boldly the outcome of war against those 
who are seeking to injure us. Our claim upon the magnates 
and their promise is considered to strengthen our side and to 
encourage the right which we have ; as is shown by the ex- 
ample of Wales, which has continued in prosperity where we 
recently triumphed victoriously. And with what appearance 
of justice can you leave me, your master, poor and abandoned, 
bound to so difficult an affair of the comn-ion wealth, when I 
must fulfill the promise to cross the Channel, as I am held very 
strictly by an oath? " 

When this came to the notice of all they replied: "We Protest of 
wonder beyond measure, O lord king, into what abyss the Parliament 

r I 1 , • , , 1 • J against the 

vast amount of money has been cast which you have obtained king's policy 
from the stewards of the great lords, from various escheats, 
from frequent extortions ; as well from churches left without 
pastors as from the lands of the wealthy ; and from rich gifts, 
all of which have caused astonishment in the hearts of those 



220 Readings in English History 

who have heard them, and which have never brought even a 
moderate return to the kingdom. Moreover you recently sum- 
moned into this kingdom certain ambassadors, or those per- 
forming the functions of ambassadors, who have collected, as 
it were, grapes after the vintage, remnants for themselves 
of the remaining money. But all the magnates of England 
wonder greatly at the fact that without their consent and advice 
you have entered upon so difificult and perilous an undertaking, 
and that showing faith in those without faith, and scorning the 
favor of your natural advisers, you are exposing yourself to the 
outcome of so doubtful a fortune. Break this bond of false- 
hoods, accepted and sworn to on your soul, between the king 
of the French and you, to be observed inviolably and indis- 
solubly even to the end ; which very famous men have made 
on your part, — such men as Earl Richard, your brother, and 
Earl Roger Bigod, — dishonestly and shamelessly, not without 
danger to your life and injury to your credit." 

The older and more dignified men of this kingdom also 
added : "By the very presence of your body you have sho\vn 
too great confidence, when the notable (notable to be sure 
in their many betrayals) magnates themselves beyond the sea 
were rising against their master, the king of the French, and 
at such a time no faith ought to have been shown to them. 
You know also that recently in the Holy Land the king of 
Navarre, whose aid they promised you, perpetrated a crime, 
and the scar has not yet formed over the recent wounds. 

" Let the examples drawn from your magnificent royal pred- 
ecessors terrify and recall you, — those men who possessed 
impregnable camps, vast lands, many soldiers, and great 
treasures in those regions ; who were nevertheless not power- 
ful enough to overcome the compactness of the invincible 
soldiery of the kingdom of the French, or even to retain their 
possessions." 
Anger of When the king heard these words he flew into a great rage, 
the king swearing that with the help of the saints he would be recalled 
by no terror and prevented by no trickery of words from the 
plan which he had adopted, nor would he be held from going 
on shipboard within the week after Easter, and, unterrified, 



The Formation of a United English Natioii 221 

trying his fortune in war across the sea against the French. 
So the council was dissolved, and on each side there remained 
secret anger. 

The anger of the king against the barons was gradu- 
ally concentrated on Simon de Montfort, whom he rightly 
looked upon as their leader. The following anecdote re- 
counts the first occasion on which he showed this feel- 
ing openly. 

The fears and anxieties of the barons were increased by the 127. An anec- 
coming of the month of July, with its pestilence-bearing Lion ^°*® °* t^® 
and scorching Dog Star, whose deadly barking usually disturbs 
the atmosphere. More than by all else were they alarmed at 
the fickleness and inscrutable duplicity of the king, which they 
discovered from a certain ominous speech. One day he had 
left his palace at Westminster and gone down the Thames in 
a boat to take his dinner out of doors, when the sky clouded 
over and a thunderstorm came on, attended with lightning 
and heavy rain. Now the king feared a storm of this kind 
more than any other, so he directed them to land him at once ; 
and the boat was opposite the stately palace of the bishop of 
Durham, where the earl of Leicester was then staying. On Simon de 
hearing of his arrival the earl goes gladly to meet him, and, Montfort 
greeting him with respect, as was proper, says by way of con- 
solation : "What is it that you fear? The storm is now 
passed." -To this the king, not in jest but seriously, answered, 
with a severe look, " The thunder and lightning I fear beyond 
measure, but, by the head of God, I fear thee more than all 
the thunder and lightning in the world." The earl gently 
replied, " My lord, it is unjust and incredible that you should 
fear me, your firm friend, who am ever faithful to you and 
yours, and to the kingdom of England ; it is your enemies, 
your destroyers and false flatterers, that you ought to fear." 
Every one suspected that these astounding words broke from 
the king because the earl of Leicester manfully and boldly 
persevered in carrying out the Provisions, under which they 
were to compel the king and all their opponents to assent to 



222 Readings in English History 

their plans, and utterly banish his brothers who were corrupt- 
ing the whole kingdom. . . . 

The following is an account of the battle of Lewes, 
written by the successor of Matthew Paris as historiog- 
rapher at St. Albans abbey. The victory of Lewes, not- 
withstanding the completeness of the defeat of the king, 
was only temporary, and confusion, as here described, 
continued for another year. 

128. Ineffect- The barons, moreover, had sent as mediators of peace to 
uai efforts |.]^g king, Henry, bishop of London, and William de Cantilupe, 
Barons' War bishop of Worcester, offering to pay thirty thousand pounds 
for the loss inflicted upon the kingdom by them, saving in all 
things the Provisions of Oxford. But the king of Germany,^ 
who wished no one to seem equal to him, was very angry that 
the barons had risen against the king and had plundered his 
goods, and cried out against this disturbance of the peace of 
the time. 

When those who had thus been sent had returned, they 
announced that the adverse party was anticipating a war to 
the end. And so Earl Simon spent the entire night without 
sleep, in accordance with his custom, reserving it for divine 
duties and prayers, and for urging his men to make serious 
confessions. William de Cantilupe, bishop of Worcester, hold- 
ing before all the hope of absolution, ordered that for the 
remission of their sins they should fight manfully for the right 
on that day, promising to all who died in that way an entrance 
into the heavenly kingdom. 

So, assured of war, the next morning before sunrise they 
went out of the village of Flexing,' where a great part of them 
had spent the night ; which village was distant from the town 
of Lewes about six miles. Before the present expedition Earl 
Simon de Montfort had conferred knighthood upon Gilbert 
de Clare. 

1 This was Richard, earl of Cornwall, younger brother of Henry III, 
who had been elected king of Germany, but was never fully recognized 
there, and remained most of his life in England. 



The Formation of a United English Nation 223 

When they had approached the town of Lewes, at a place Battle of 
scarcely two miles distant from the town, Simon with his men Lewes 
ascended the hill, and, placing his wagon in the midst of his 
baggage and packs, he stationed his standard thereon, arrang- 
ing many of his armed men about it in a circle. He himself 
with his army held the wings and awaited the outcome of the 
affair. In this wagon he had placed four citizens of London, 
who had conspired for his betrayal, a little while before, when 
he was spending the night in Southwark. He did this for a 
precaution. 

When the lines had been carefully arranged he ordered White 
white crosses to be sewed on their breasts and on their backs, crosses as 

, , .... 1 , , -11 badges of the 

above the armorial sign, m order that they might be recog- barons' army 
nized by the enemy, and might show that they were fighting 
for justice. In the morning the army of the barons suddenly 
attacked the followers of the king, who had gone forth to 
seek food and forage, and killed many of them. 

The king, assured of the arrival of the barons, advanced 
immediately with his men, displaying his standards. The royal 
standard preceded him, bearing the fatal sign which they call 
"The Dragon." Hisarmy was divided into three parts. The first 
line was in charge of Edward, the eldest son of the king, with 
William de Valence, earl of Pembroke, and John de Warenne, 
earl of Surrey and Sussex. The second was in charge of the 
king of Germany, with his son Henry. The third. King Henry 
himself commanded. The army of the barons was divided 
into four lines; the first was under Henry de Montfort, with 
the earl of Hereford ; the second under Gilbert de Clare, 
with John Fitzjohn and William de Munchensy ; in the third 
were the Londoners and Nicholas de Segrave ; the fourth. Earl 
Simon himself commanded, with Thomas de Pelvestone. 

Edward with his line rushed upon the enemy with such The Prince 
force that he forced them to retreat ; many were drowned, — it °^ Wales 

11 • 1 1 T 1 <T 1 defeats the 

IS reported about sixty ; then the Londoners were put to flight. Londoners 
Edward, thirsting for their blood on account of the insult for- 
merly offered to his mother, followed them a distance of four 
miles and inflicted severe loss; but the strength of the royal 
army was much lessened by his absence. 



2 24 Readings in English History 

Success of In the meantime many powerful men in the royal army, 
Simon seeing the standard of the earl on the hill, and thinking that 
he was there, hastened thither and fell suddenly upon the 
Londoners, not knowing that they were on their side. The 
earl and Gilbert de Clare rested nowhere, but struck do^vn, 
overthrew, and sent to death many, straining every nerve to 
capture the king alive. Very many fell on the king's side. 
John, earl of Warenne, William de Valence, and Guy de 
Lusignan, all brothers of the king, Hugh Bigot, and about 
three hundred mailed knights, perceiving the ferocity of the 
barons, turned their backs. The king of Germany, Richard, 
Robert Bruce, and John Comyn, who had led the Scots 
thither, were all captured. Even King Henry himself, his 
horse having been killed under him, surrendered himself to 
Earl Simon de Montfort and was presently shut up in the 
priory under guard. 

Many barons of Scotland were killed on that day, and many 
of the foot soldiers who had come with them vvere slain also. 
Besides, there were captured Humphrey de Bohun, earl of 
Hereford, John, son of Alan, earl of Arundel, William Bar- 
dolf, Robert de Tateshale, Roger de Someri, Henry Percy, 
Philip Basset. On the king's side there fell the justiciars, 
William de Wilton, and Fulk, son of Warenne, the one by the 
sword, the other by drowning. On the side of the barons 
Ralph Hering and Baro and William Blunders, standard bear- 
ers of the earl, were killed. About five thousand are said to 
have fallen on each side. 

Edward, in the meantime, with his soldiers, returned from 
the slaughter of the Londoners, not knowing what had hap- 
pened to his father ; and, going around the town, he came to 
the camp at Lewes, and not finding his father there entered 
the priory of Lewes, where he both found his father and real- 
ized the situation. The barons assaulted the fort, but when 
those within manfully defended themselves they withdrew^ 
When the courage of the camp soldiers became known, Edward 
was greatly excited ; he wished to collect his men again and 
offer battle. When this was known the barons sent mediators 
declaring that they wished to treat finally concerning peace. 



The Formation of a United English Nation 225 

On the next day the Preaching Brothers and the Minorites Terms of 
went back and forth between the parties and accomplished P^^*^® 
this much, that on the sixth day following Edward and Henry 
were to give themselves up to Earl Simon for their fathers, 
the kings of England and Germany, for the sake of peace and 
quiet. There should then be a deliberate discussion as to 
what provisions and statutes ought to be established for the 
good of the kingdom, and which ought to be abolished. The 
captives were to be returned without ransom. 

On the following Sabbath the king gave authority to all 
who had followed him to return to their estates, and wrote, at 
the wish of Earl Simon, to those who were within the fort at 
Tunbridge that, returning to their homes, they should not 
harm the barons. But these, nevertheless, advanced in arms 
when they heard that the Londoners who had escaped from 
the battle had been received at Croydon, and, hastening 
thither, killed many of them and carried off booty. Thence 
they hastened towards Bristol, where they remained in gar- 
rison until the liberation of Edward. Edward was sent to the 
castle of Wallingford to be confined. During that year five Disorder of 
months and two weeks were shaken with the severity of the ^^^ ^^""^^ 
war. When any one wished to defend his castle he laid waste 
everything belonging to his neighbor, devastated fields, and 
drove away the cattle, for the defense of his castle ; nor did 
the churches or cemeteries escape. The homes of the poor 
peasants, even to the straw of their beds, were torn up and 
taken. And although the earl had given command that under 
penalty of death no one should presume to enter a holy church 
or cemetery for plunder, nor should any one inflict violence 
upon religious men or their servants, he accomplished nothing 
by his carefulness. For neither bishops nor abbots nor any 
religious men could go from town to town without being plun- 
dered by thieves. 

VI. The Reign of Edward I 

Edward I came to the throne equipped with all the 
physical and mental characteristics suited to make him 



226 Readings z« English History 

the great ruler he became. The following description of 
his person and habits is from a later St. Alban's chron- 
icler, William of Rishanger. 

129. A con- Thereupon Edward, oldest son of Henry the Third, king of 

temporary England, and Eleanor, daughter of the count of Provence in 

description ° ii-,,-ri i-i- 

of Edward I Savoy, succeeded, m the thirty-fourth year of his age, to the 

kingdom of his father. He was prudent in the conduct of 

business, devoted from youth to the exercise of arms, by 

which he had acquired in various regions that knightly fame 

in which he excelled all Christian princes of his time. He was 

of graceful build and commanding stature, by which he rose 

head and shoulders above ordinary people. His hair in early 

life had been light yellow, in middle life much darker, and in 

old age it became white as a swan. He had a broad forehead, 

and the rest of his face was symmetrical, except that the lid of 

his left eye drooped, showing in this his likeness to his father. 

He had a stammering tongue, but nevertheless one which was 

not wanting in a certain eloquence and power of persuasion. 

His arms were long in proportion to his body, but in their 

nervous flexibility no man's were more suited to the use of the 

sword. His chest was more prominent than the rest of his 

body, and the wide separation of his legs gave him a firm seat 

on a running or leaping horse. When he was free from war 

he indulged in hunting wood birds and beasts, especially deer, 

which he was accustomed to chase on horseback, and, when 

captured, to cut down with a sw^ord in place of a hunting knife. 

The Great Councils or parliaments of the reign of 
Henry III, as of his predecessors, were made up, with a 
few exceptions, of nobles and prelates. The following 
summons issued in 1295 to the sheriff of each county, 
calling knights and townsmen to parliament, is worthy of 
careful study as showing the plan of representation estab- 
lished by Edward I, and giving the basis on which the 
House of Commons rests to the present day. 



TJlc Formation of a United English Nation 227 

The king to the sherrff of Northamptonshire. Since we 130. Writ to 
intend to have a consultation and meeting with the earls, the sheriff for 
barons, and other principal men of our kingdom with regard ^f represen- 
to providing remedies against the dangers which are in these tatives from 
days threatening the same kingdom : and on that account Northamp- 
, J 1 1 1 -1 1 T 1, , tonshire 

have commanded them to be with us on the Lord s day next (1295) 

after the feast of St. Martin, in the approaching winter, at 
Westminster, to consider, ordain, and do as may be necessary 
for the avoidance of these dangers ; we strictly require you to 
cause two knights from the aforesaid county, two citizens from 
each city in the same county, and two burgesses from each 
borough, of those who are especially discreet and diligent, to 
be elected without delay, and to cause them to come to us 
at the aforesaid time and place. 

Moreover, the said knights are to have full and sufficient 
power for themselves and for the community of the aforesaid 
county, and the said citizens and burgesses for themselves and 
the communities of the aforesaid cities and boroughs sepa- 
rately, for doing then and there what shall be ordained by the 
common council in the premises ; so that the aforesaid busi- 
ness shall not in any way remain unfinished for defect of this 
power. And you shall have there the names of the knights, 
citizens, and burgesses and this writ. 

Witness the king at Canterbury on the third day of October. 

The terrible attack on the Jews described in the 
following passage occurred a few years before the be- 
ginning of the period covered by this chapter. Similar 
outrages, however, continued to occur during the whole 
of this time, much as they have occurred in recent years 
in Austria and Russia. 

Richard, the only one of the kings from the beginning so 131. Attack 

called, was consecrated king at London, and solemnly crowned °° 5,*^® J®^^ 
° -^ at the coro- 

by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, on the third day of nation of 

September, which day from an early popular superstition is Richard I 

called unlucky, or Egyptian, as it were, by a certain presenti- ^^^ ^ 

ment of the outcome for the Jews. For that day proved to be 



228 



Readings in English History 



fatal to the Jews and the Egyptians more than to the English, 
since England, where under former kings they had been happy 
and renowned, was turned quickly for them by the judgment 
of God into Egypt, where their fathers had suffered a hard lot. 
The affair indeed is fresh in our memories and is known to 
every one at present ; but it is worth while to write out with 
fuller details a record for posterity of a decree which was so 
clearly from on high, against this faithless and blasphemous 
people. 

From all parts of England there had assembled for the 
solemn anointing of the Christian prince not only the nobility 
of the Christians but also the leading men of the Jews. These 
enemies of truth were on their guard lest perchance the good 
fortune enjoyed under the former king might not smile upon 
them under the new ruler, and they considered that his first 
acts ought most fittingly to be observed, and equal favor from 
him ought to be purchased by great gifts. But that prince re- 
ceived them less kindly than his father, being on his guard 
against I know not what, on account of a certain superstitious 
feeling of caution, from the advice of certain ones ; so he 
forbade them to enter the church while he was being crowned, 
or the palace while the feast was going on, after the ceremony 
of the coronation. 

When mass was completed the king, glittering in his diadem, 
with great pomp entered the banquet room. It happened that 
while he was sitting at the table, with a great throng of the 
nobility, confusion arose among the spectators about the palace. 
Quarrel be- The Jews mingled with the throng and began to enter the 
palace. A certain Christian becoming angry, so the story goes, 
openly pushed away a Jew with his hand from the entrance 
door, citing as authority for his action the royal edict. Sev- 
eral were aroused by this example, and drove the Jews back 
with reproaches ; the uproar grew general and the undisci- 
plined horde rose like a whirlwind. Believing that the king 
had ordered such things, and relying, as it were, on royal 
authority, they rushed from all sides upon a great number of 
the Jews, who were standing near the entrance looking on. 
At first they attacked them viciously with their hands, but 



tween a 
Christian 
and a Jew 



The Formation of a United English Nation 229 

presently, becoming more enraged, they used sticks and stones. 
Then the Jews began to flee ; some were killed in the flight, 
while others were trampled under foot and perished. Two 
prominent Jews of York, Joceus and Benedict, had come there 
with the rest ; the former of these escaped, but the latter, 
while he was attempting flight more slowly, because of the 
snares which were placed to catch him, was seized and, in 
order to escape death, was forced to acknowledge Christ, led 
to a church, and baptized on the spot. 

In the meantime a very pleasing report, namely, that the The mob of 
king had ordered all the Jews to be exterminated, spread London rises 
quickly throughout London. Presently a vast disorderly throng, 
composed of the people of London, as well as those whom the 
ceremony of the royal coronation had called together from 
many districts, hoping for booty or bloodshed, rushed together 
armed against a people hated by all according to God's judg- 
ment. Then the Jewish citizens, of whom a large number are 
known to dwell in London, betook themselves to their own 
homes, together with those who had assembled from all sides. 
The houses of these men were surrounded by a howling mob 
and boldly besieged from the ninth hour even to sunset. 
Since the houses could not be broken down, on account of the 
strong material of which they were built, and since the besiegers 
lacked engines for the purpose, they set fire to the roofs, and 
a dreadful conflagration was quickly lighted. This was fatal to 
the Jews, who were already in difficulty, and gave to the rag- 
ing Christians light to aid them in their nocturnal undertaking. 

But this fire lighted against the Jews did not harm them, A great fire 
only inasmuch as, without discrimination, it spread quickly also '" London 
to some of the houses of the Christians which were near by. 
Everywhere suddenly could be seen this wretched city set on 
fire by the flames of civil hatred, just as if by the hand of an 
enemy. The Jews were either burned in their own dwellings, 
or, coming forth, were cut off by swords. Much blood was shed 
in a short time. Soon, however, a desire for booty sprang up 
and put an end to the slaughter, and avarice conquered cruelty. 
Finally all murder ceased, and an avaricious madness set in 
for the robbing of houses and plundering of riches. Straightway 



230 Readings in English History 

Christian was fighting against Christian, since they envied each 
other what they -stole; with their wicked desire for plunder 
they spared not even friends and companions. 

These things were announced to the king, who was at the 
banquet in the palace with a great throng of nobles, and 
Ranulf de Glanville, the justiciar of the king, a man powerful 
and prudent, was sent forth, with others equally noble, to 
either quell or restrain the reckless, but in vain. For in so 
great an uprising not one of them heeded his voice or paid 
any deference to his appearance ; nay, even more, certain of 
the more ignorant began to rage against him and his compan- 
ions, and ordered them with dreadful cries to go back quickly. 
These men advisedly withdrew from the unbridled madness of 
the mob, while the robbers continued raging with the greatest 
license and boldness even to the second hour of the next day, 
when a satiety of rioting, rather than weariness or consider- 
ation or reverence for the prince, allayed their fury. 

By the latter part of the reign of Edward I the Jews 
had ceased to be so necessary to the king as before, 
since he could now borrow from the Italian bankers. 
Their expulsion therefore followed, as described by the 
chronicler John of Trokelowe. 

132. The ex- At this time there were Jews dwelling among the Chris- 
pulsionof the tians in every city and famous town in England. King Edward, 
jews (1290) ^^^j^j^ ^j^^ advice of his nobles, ordered them to leave the coun- 
try, and to depart without fail on one day, and this was the 
decree : that whatever Jew should be found in England after 
the first warning should either be plunged in the baptismal 
font and thus faithfully acknowledge Christ, the son of God, 
or should have his head cut off. Immediately the Jews, struck 
with the fear of death, left England, carrying with them all 
their possessions. When their vessels had set sail and had been 
carried out to sea, storms arose, severe winds blew, their ships 
were shattered, and many were drowned. Certain ones driven 
upon the shores ot France, by the judgment of God, perished 
miserably. At length the king of France was touched with 



The Fo7-mation of a United English Nation 2 3 1 

pity, although these were enemies to God, and since they 
were God's creatures, although ungrateful ones, he permitted 
them to dwell for a short length of time in his kingdom, and 
to settle in Amiens. When this was reported in Rome, and 
had come to the ears of the highest pontiff, burning with rage 
he bitterly denounced the king. 

The decision of Edward in favor of Balliol, in the dis- 
pute about the throne of Scotland, and the oath of alle- 
giance which the latter took, are recorded in unusually 
definite terms by one of the contemporary chroniclers. 

Therefore, after a diligent discussion of this matter, by com- 133. The 
mon consent the king adjudged the undivided kingdom to ^^ard of 
John de Balliol, who was descended from the oldest daughter 
of David, king of Scots. For Robert de Bruce, between whom 
and the same John de Balliol the question principally lay, to 
the exclusion of all the others, although one generation nearer, 
nevertheless was descended from the second daughter of King 
David. John de Balliol, on the feast of St. Andrew next follow- 
ing, was solemnly crowned in the church of the Canons Regu- 
lar at Scone, being seated on the royal stone on which Jacob 
had supported his head when he was going from Beersheba 
to Dan. After his coronation, going to the king of England, 
who was celebrating Christmas at Newcastle-on-Tyne, he did 
homage to him in these words : " Lord Edward, king of Eng- 
land, over-lord of Scotland, I, John de Balliol, king of Scot- The oath of 
land, acknowledge myself your liegeman for the whole realm J"*^" Baihol 
of Scotland and for all things which pertain to it and depend 
upon it; which kingdom of mine I hold, and ought openly 
and of right to hold, from you and your heirs, kings of Eng- 
land, with life and limbs and earthly honor, against all men 
who can live and die." And the king of England accepted his 
homage in this form, the rights of both being saved. 

This homage did not settle the question of Scottish 
allegiance ; war soon broke out, and the long, bitter, 
and doubtful contest which saw the romantic adventures 



232 Readings in English History 

of Wallace and Bruce finally closed with the victory of 
the latter at Bannockburn in 1 3 14, one incident of which 
is told in the following account. 

134. The On that night you might have seen the English host deep 

battle of jj^ their cups, wassailing and toasting immoderately : on the 

Bannock- , , , ,' ■, , , ,..,,. , • 

burn (Tune Other hand the Scots silently kept the vigil fasting, their every 

24, 1314) thought centered in their desire for their country's freedom ; 
and this desire, though ungrounded, was vehement and equal 
to all risks. On the morrow the Scots seized the most advan- 
tageous position, and dug pits three feet deep and as wide 
across, stretching along the whole line, from the right wing to 
the left. These they covered over with a light framework of 
twigs and osiers, that is to say, with hurdles ; and then over 
the top they strewed turf and grass, so that men could cross 
them on foot with care, but the weight of cavalry could not be 
supported. In accordance with their royal leader's commands 
none of the Scots were mounted, and their army, drawn up in 
the usual divisions, was posted in solid formation at no great 
distance from this pit, which had been warily, not to say 
craftily, set between themselves and the English. On the 
other side, as the Enghsh army advanced from the west, the 
rising sun flashed upon their golden shields and polished 
helms. Their 'vanguard consisted of light horse and heavy 
cavalry, all unconscious of the Scots' pit, with its cunningly 
contrived light covering ; in the second division were men-at- 
arms and archers held in reserve to give chase to the enemy ; 
in the third was the king, with the bishops and other church- 
men, and among them the brave knight, Hugh Spenser. The 
cavalry of the vanguard advanced against the enemy and fell 
headlong, as their horses stumbled into the ditch, with their 
forefeet caught in the broken hurdles ; and when these fell 
through, the enemy came up and slew them, giving quarter 
only to the rich, for ransom. 



CHAPTER X 
THE FIRST HALF OF THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 

I. The Early Occurrences of the War 

The French chronicler, Froissart, has described the 
life and events of this warlike and chivalrous period with 
so much vivacity and interest that it has seemed best to 
give extended extracts from his famous Chronicles. He 
gained most of his information from conversation with 
men who took part in the campaigns of the Hundred 
Years' War. Consequently we must make allowance for 
prejudices and mistakes, and it need not be a matter of 
surprise if Froissart's statements are not in all cases 
accepted in the Short History of Enghxnd or in other 
histories. He wrote in French, but his chronicles hav^e 
been often translated into English. The following ex- 
tracts are taken from the old translation made by Lord 
Berners in the sixteenth century. 

Now sheweth the history that this Philip le Beau, king of 135. Extracts 
France, had three sons and a fair daughter named Isabel, from 
married into England to King Edward the second ; and these chronfdes^ 
three sons, the eldest named Louis, who was king of Navarre 
in his father's days and was called King Louis Hutin ; the 
second had to name Philip the Great or the Long, and the 
third was called Charles ; and all three were kings of France 
after their father's decease by right succession each after other, 
without having any issue male of their bodies lawfully be- 
gotten. So that after the death of Charles, last king of the 
three, the twelve peers and all the barons of France would 

233 



234 



Readings in English History 



Hereafter 
beginneth the 
occasion 
whereby the 
war was 
moved be- 
tween the 
kings of 
France and 
England 



How King 
Edward and 
all his allies 
did defy the 
French king 



not give the realm to Isabel, the sister, who was queen of Eng- 
land, because they said and maintained, and yet do, that the 
realm of France is so noble that it ought not to go to a woman, 
and so consequently not to Isabel, nor to the king of England, 
her eldest son. For they determined the son of the woman to 
have no right nor succession by his mother, since they de- 
clared the mother to have no right ; so that by these reasons 
the twelve peers and barons of France by their common ac- 
cord did give the realm of France to the lord, Philip of Valois, 
nephew sometime to Philip le Beau, king of France, and so put 
out the queen of England and her son, who was as the next 
heir male, as son to the sister to Charles, last king of France. 
Thus went the realm of France out of the right lineage, as it 
seemed to many folk, whereby great wars have moved and 
fallen, and great destructions of people and countries in the 
realm of France and other places, as ye may hereafter see. 
This is the very right foundation of this history, to recount 
the great enterprises and great feats of arms that have for- 
tuned and fallen. Sith the time of the good Charlemagne, 
king of France, there never fell so great adventures. . . . 

Thus the winter passed and summer came, and the feast of 
St. John Baptist approached ; and the lords of England and 
of Almaine appareled themselves to accomplish their enter- 
prise ; and the French king wrought as much as he could to 
the contrary, for he knew much of their intents. King Edward 
made all his provisions in England, and all his men-of-war, to 
be ready to pass the sea incontinent after the feast of St. John ; 
and so they did. Then the king went to Vilvorde, and there 
made his company to be lodged, as many as might in the town, 
and the others without along on the river sides in tents and 
pavilions ; and there he tarried from Maudlin-tide till Our 
Lady day in September, abiding weekly for the lords of the 
Empire, and specially for the duke of Brabant, on whose com- 
ing all the others abode. And when the king of England saw 
how they came not, he sent great messengers to each of them, 
summoning them to come as they had promised, and to meet 
with him at Mechlin on St. Giles day and then to show him 
why they had tarried so long. 



The First Half of the Hundred Years' War 235 

Thus King Edward lay at Vilvorde and kept daily at his 
cost and charge well to the number of sixteen hundred men 
of arms, all come from the other side of the sea, and ten thou- 
sand archers, besides all other provisions ; the which was a 
marvelous great charge, besides the great rewards that he had 
given to the lords, and besides the great armies that he had on 
the sea. The French king on his part had set Genoways, Nor- 
mans, Bretons, Picards, and Spaniards to be ready on the sea 
to enter into England as soon as the war should be opened. 

These lords of Almaine at the king of England's summons 
came to Mechlin and with much business. Finally they ac- 
corded that the king of England might well set forward within 
fifteen days after ; and to the intent that their war should be 
the more laudable, they agreed to send their defiances to the 
French king — first the king of England, the duke of Gueldres, 
the marquis of Juliers, Sir Robert d'Artois, Sir John of Hain- 
ault, the marquis of Meissen, the marquis of Brandenbourg, 
the lord of Fauquemont, Sir Arnold of Baquehem, the arch- 
bishop of Cologne, Sir Waleran, his brother, and all other 
lords of the Empire. These defiances were written and sealed 
by all the lords except the duke of Brabant, who said he would 
do his deed by himself at time convenient. To bear these defi- 
ances into France was charged the bishop of Lincoln, who bare 
them to Paris and did his message in such manner that he could 
not be reproached nor blamed ; and so he had a safe conduct 
to return again to his king, who was then at Mechhn. . . . 

In the first week that the French king was thus defied. Sir How Sir 
Walter Manny, as soon as he knew it, gat to him a forty Walter 
spears and rode through Brabant night and day, till he came the defiances 
into Hainault and entered into the wood of Blaton, as then were declared 
not knowing what he should do. But he had shewed to some ^'^^^ ^^^. ^''^^ 

° journey into 

of them that were most priviest about him, how he had prom- France 
ised before ladies and damosels ere he came out of England, 
that he would be the first that should enter into France, and 
to get either town or castle, and to do some deeds of arms. 
And then his intent was to ride to Mortagne and to get it if 
he might, the which pertained then to the realm of France ; 
and so rode and passed the wood of Blaton, and came in a 



236 Readings in English History 

morning before the sun-rising to Mortagne, and by adventure 
he found the wicket of the gate open. Then he ahghted with 
his company and entered in, and did set certain of his com- 
pany to keep the gate, and so went into the high street with 
his pennon before him and came to the great tower, but the 
wicket was fast closed. And when the watch of the castle 
heard the brunt and saw them, he blew his horn and cried 
" Treason ! treason ! " Then every man awoke and made them 
ready, and kept still within the castle. Then Sir Walter 
Manny went back again and did set fire in the street adjoin- 
ing to the castle, so that there were a threescore houses 
brent and the people sore afraid, for they weened all to have 
been taken. Then Sir Walter and his company rode back 
straight to Conde and there passed the river of Hayne. Then 
they rode the way to Valenciennes and coasted on the right 
hand and came to Denain, and so went to the Abbey, and 
so passed forth toward Bouchain, and did so much that the 
captain did let them pass through by the river. 

Then they came to a strong castle pertaining to the bishop 
of Cambray, called the castle of Thun, the which suddenly 
they took, and the captain and his wife within. And the lord 
Manny made a good garrison and set therein a brother of his 
called Sir Giles Manny, who afterwards did much trouble to 
the city of Cambray, for the castle was within a league of the 
town. Then Sir Walter^ Manny returned into Brabant to the 
king, his sovereign lord, whom he found at Mechlin, and there 
shewed him all that he had done. "... 
How King When that king Edward was departed from the Flamengerie, 

Edward took ^j^^ came into Brabant and went straight to Brussels, the duke 
bear the arms of Gueldres, the marquis of Juliers, the marquis of Branden- 
of France and bourg, the earl of Mons, Sir John of Hainault, the lord of 
e name, Fauquemont, and all the lords of the Empire such as had been 
king thereof at that journey, brought him thither to take advice and coun- 
sel what should be done more in the matter that they had 
begun. And to have expedition in the cause they ordained a 
parliament to be holden at the town of Brussels, and thither 
to come was desired Jacques d'Arteveld of Gaunt, who came 
thither with a great company, and all the counsels of the good] 



The First Half of the Hundred Years War 237 

towns of Flanders. There the king of England was sore de- 
sired of all his allies of the Empire that he should require 
them of Flanders to aid and to maintain his war, and to defy 
the French king, and to go with him whereas he would have 
them ; and on their so doing, he to promise them to recover 
Lille, Douay, and Bethune. 

This request was well heard of the Flemings, and there- 
upon they desired to take counsel among themselves ; and so 
they took counsel at good leisure, and then they said to the 
king : " Sir, ere this time you have made to us request in this 
behalf. Sir, if we might well do this, saving your honor and 
to save ourselves, we would gladly do this ; but, sir, we be 
bound by faith and oath and in the sum of two millions of 
florins in the pope's chamber, that we may make nor move no 
war against the king of France, whosoever it be, on pain to 
lose the said sum, and, beside that, to run in the sentence of 
cursing. But, sir, if ye will take on you the arms of France and 
quarter them with the arms of England and call yourself king 
of France, as ye ought to be of right, then we will take you for 
rightful king of France and demand of you quittance of your 
bonds, and so ye to give us pardon thereof as king of France : 
by this means we shall be assured and dispensed withal, and so 
then we will go with you whithersoever you will have us." 

Then the king took counsel, for he thought it was a sore 
matter to take on the arras of France and the name, and as 
then had conquered nothing thereof, nor could not tell what 
should fall thereof, nor whether he should conquer it or not ; 
and on the other side, loth he was to refuse the- comfort and 
aid of the Flemings, who might do him more aid than any other. 
So the king took counsel of the lords of the Empire, and of the 
lord Robert d'Artois, and with other of his special friends; so 
that finally, the good and the evil weighed, he answered to the 
Flemings that if they would swear and seal to this accord, 
and promise to maintain his war, .how he would do all this 
with a good will, and promised to get them again Lille, Douay, 
and Bethune ; and they answered how they were content. 

Then there was a day assigned to meet at Gaunt, at which 
day the king was there, and the most part of the said lords, 



238 Readings in English Histo?y 

and all the counsels generally in Flanders. And so then all 
these said matters were rehearsed, sworn, and sealed ; and the 
king quartered the arms of France with England, and from 
thenceforth took on him the name of the king of France, and 
so continued until he left it again by composition, as ye shall 
hear after in this book. And so at this council they deter- 
mined that the next summer after they would make great war 
into France, promising to besiege the city of Tournay ; where- 
of the Flemings were joyful, for they thought to be strong 
enough to get it, and that once gotten they believed shortly 
after to win again Lille, Douay, and Bethune, with the appur- 
tenances pertaining or holden of the earl of Flanders. . , . 
Of the battle Now let US leave somewhat to speak of the earl of Hainault 
on the sea ^^^ |.|^g duke of Nomiandy, and speak of the king of England, 
in Flanders who was On the sca to the intent to arrive in Flanders, and so 
between the into Hainault, to make war against the Frenchmen. This was 
l'nd° d t"if *^^^ midsummer even in the year of our Lord 1340; all the 
Frenchmen English fleet was departed out of the river of Thames and 
took the way to Sluys. And the same time between Blanken- 
berghe and Sluys on the sea was Sir Hugh Quieret, Sir Peter 
Behuchet and Barbevaire, and more than sixscore great ves- 
sels, besides others ; and there were of Normans, Bretons, Geno- 
ways, and Picards about the number of forty thousand ; there 
they were laid by the French king to defend the king of Eng- 
land's passage. The king of England and his came sailing till 
he came before Sluys ; and when he saw so great a number of 
ships that their masts seemed to be like a great wood, he de- 
manded of the master of his ship what people he thought they 
were. He answered and said, " Sir, I think they be Normans 
laid here by the French king, and hath done great displeasure 
in England, brent your town of Hampton and taken your 
great ship, the Christopher.''^ "Ah ! " quoth the king ; " I have 
long desired to fight with the Frenchmen, and now shall I 
fight with some of them by the grace of God and St. George ; 
for truly they have done me so many displeasures that I shall 
be revenged, an I may." Then the king set all his ships in 
order, the greatest before, well furnished with archers, and 
ever between two ships of archers he had one ship with men 



.. he First Half of the Hundred Years' War 239 

of arm& ; and then he made another battle to He aloof with 
archers; to comfort ever them that were most weary, if need 
were. And there were a great number of countesses, ladies, 
knights' wives, and other damosels that were going to see the 
queen at Gaunt; these ladies the king caused to be well kept 
with three hundred men of arms and five hundred archers. 

When the king and his marshals had ordered his battles he 
drew up the sails and came with a quarter wind to have the 
vantage of the sun, and so at last they turned a little to get 
the wind at will. And when the Normans saw them recule 
back, they had marvel why they did so, and some said, " They 
think themselves not meet to meddle with us, therefore they 
will go back." They saw well how the king of England was 
there personally, by reason of his banners. Then they did ap- 
parel their fleet in order, for they were sage and good men 
of war on the sea, and did set the Christopher, the which they 
had won the year before, to be foremost, with many trumpets 
and instruments, and so set on their enemies. 

There began a sore battle on both parts : archers and cross- 
bows began to shoot, and men of arms approached and fought 
hand to hand ; and the better to come together they had great 
hooks and grapplers of iron to cast out of one ship into another, 
and so tied them fast together. There were many deeds of 
arms done, taking and rescuing again, and at last the great 
Christopher via.s first won by the Englishmen, and all that were 
within it taken or slain. Then there was great noise and cry, 
and the Englishmen approached and fortified the Christopher 
with archers, and made him to pass on before to fight with 
the Genoways. This battle was right fierce and terrible ; for 
the battles on the sea are more dangerous and fiercer than the 
battles by land, for on the sea there is no reculing nor fleeing ; 
there is no remedy but to fight and abide fortune, and every 
man to shew his prowess. Of a truth Sir Hugh Quieret and 
Sir Behuchet and Barbevaire were right good and expert men 
of war. This battle endured from the morning until it was 
noon, and the Englishmen endured much pain, for their ene- 
mies were four against one, and all good men on the sea. 
There the king of England was a noble knight of his own 



240 Readings in Ejiglisk History 

hand ; he was in the flower of his youth ; hkewise so were 
the earls of Derby, Pembroke, Hereford, Huntington, North-' 
ampton, and Gloucester ; Sir Raynold Cobham, Sir Richard 
Stafford, the lord Percy, Sir Walter of Manny, Sir Henry of 
Flanders, Sir John Beauchamp, the lord Felton, the lord Brade- 
stan. Sir John Chandos, the lord Delaware, the lord of Multon, 
Sir Robert d'Artois, called earl of Richmond, and divers other 
lords and knights, who bare themselves so valiantly, with some 
succor that they had of Bruges and of the country there- 
about, that they obtained the victory ; so that the Frenchmen, 
Normans, and others were discomfited, slain, and drowned ; 
there was not one that scaped, but all were slain. 

The two kings asserted their respective claims to the 
throne of France in a number of different ways, but 
in none more positively than in the following letters, 
exchanged in 1340, soon after Edward had actually 
invaded France. 

136. Defiance Philip of Valois, for long have we made suit before you by 
of Philip embassies and all other ways which we knew to be reasonable, 
(ri4o) to the end that you should be willing to have restored unto 

us our right, our heritage of France, which you have long kept 
back and. most wrongfully occupied. And for that we see well 
that you are minded to continue in your wrongful withholding, 
without doing us right in our demand, we have entered into 
the land of Flanders as sovereign lord thereof, and have passed 
through the country. And we make known unto you that, by 
the help of our Lord Jesus Christ and our right, together with 
the power of the said land and with our people and allies, in 
regard to the right which we have in the heritage which you 
do wrongfully withhold from us, we are drawing nigh unto 
you to make an end of our rightful challenge, if you will come 
near. And because so great a power of assembled men which 
come on our side, and which we think you are leading on 
your side, would never long be able to hold together without 
doing grievous hurt to the people and to the country, — which 
thing every good Christian ought to eschew, and especially 



TJie First Half of tJie Himdred Years' War 241 

princes and others who think themselves worthy to rule nations, 
— so do we greatly desire that dispatch be made. Therefore, 
for the avoiding the death of Christians, seeing that the quarrel 
is manifestly ours and yours, let the trial of our challenge be 
made between our two bodies ; whereunto we ofifer ourself for 
the reason aforesaid, albeit that we consider well the great 
nobility of your person, your prudence also, and discretion. 
And in case that you would not choose this way, then should 
our challenge be made to make an end thereof by battle 
between yourself, with one hundr.ed of the fittest men of your 
side, and ourself, with so many others of our liegemen. And if 
you do not agree to either of these plans, assign unto us a 
certain day to fight before the city of Tournay, power against 
power, within ten days next after the date of this letter. . . . 
Given under our great seal at Chin, in the fields near 
Tournay, the 27 th day of the month of July, the year of our 
Lord 1340. 

To this letter Philip replied as follows : 

Philip, by the grace of God king of France, to Edward, 137. Reply of 
king of England. We have seen your letters which were ^'"S Phihp 
brought into our court, sent from you to Philip of Valois, defiance 
wherein are contained certain demands which you make of 
the said Philip of Valois. And for that the said letters came 
not unto us, and that the said demands were not made of us, 
as clearly appeareth by the tenor of the letters, we make 
unto you no answer. Nevertheless, we have heard .and per- 
ceive, by means of the said letters and otherwise, that you 
have entered into our realm of France, bringing great harm 
to us, and to our realm and to our people, led on by wilful- 
ness and without reason and without regard to the faith that 
a liegeman oweth to his lord. For you did enter into our 
liege homage, recognizing us, as is right, to be king of France, 
and did promise obedience such as one is bound to promise 
to his liege lord, as more clearly appeareth by your letters 
patent, sealed with your great seal, the which we have in our 
hands, and which you ought equally to have with you. There- 
fore our intent is, when unto us it shall seem good, to cast 



242 Readings hi English History 

you forth from our realm, to the honor of us and of our realm 
and to the profit of our people ; and to do this we have stead- 
fast hope m Jesus Christ, from whom all power cometh unto 
us. For by your undertaking, which is of wilfulness and not 
reasonable, hath been hindered the holy passage beyond sea, 
and great numbers of Christian people have been slain, the 
service of God minished, and holy Church had in less rever- 
ence. And as to what you have written, that you think to have 
the help of the Flemings, we take it for certain that the good 
people and commons of the land will bear themselves in such 
manner towards our cousin, the count of Flanders, their im- 
mediate lord, and us, their sovereign lord, that they will keep 
their honor and their loyalty. And that they have hitherto 
erred hath been from evil counsel of people who regarded not 
the common weal nor the honor of the country, but their 
own profit only. Given in the fields near the priory of St. 
Andrew, under our privy seal in default of our great seal, the 
30th day of July, the year of grace 1340. 

The battle of Cressy (or Crecy, to give the French 
form) merits our attention not only on account of its 
military importance, but because it so well illustrates the 
characteristics of the two nations who were opposing one 
another. The French, supported by the Genoese merce- 
naries, enjoyed the advantage of numbers, but the English 
were their superiors in weapons, discipline, and general- 
ship. Froissart also shows in the following account that 
the English were favored by the weather. 

138. The bat- The Englishmen, who were in three battles, lying on the 
tie of Cressy gj-Qund to rest them, as soon as they saw the Frenchmen ap- 
proach, rose upon their feet fair and easily without any haste 
and arranged their battles. In the first, which was the prince's 
A herse is a battle, the archers stood in the manner of a herse, and the men 
harrow ^f arms in the bottom of the battle. The earl of Northampton 

and the earl of Arundel, with the second battle, were on a wing 
in good order, ready to comfort the prince's battle, if need were. 



The First Half of tJic Hundred Years' War 243 

The lords and knights of France came not to the assembly 
in good order, for some came before and some came after in 
such evil order that one of them did trouble another. When 
the French king saw the Englishmen his blood changed, and 
he said to his marshals, " Make the Genoways go on before 
and begin the battle in the name of God and St. Denis." 
There were of the Genoways crossbows about fifteen thousand, 
but they were so weary of going afoot that day a six leagues 
armed with their crossbows, that they said to their constables : 
" We be not well ordered to fight this day, for we be not in 
the case to do any great feats of arms : we have more need of 
rest." . These words came to the earl of Alengon, who said, 
" A man is well at ease to be charged with such a set of rascals, 
to be faint and fail now at most need." Also the same season The Genoese 
there fell a great rain and lightning with terrible thunder, and crossbowmen 
before the rain there came flying over both battles a great English long- 
number of crows for fear of the tempest coming. Then anon bowmen 
the air began to wax clear, and the sun to shine fair and bright, 
the which was right in the Frenchmen's eyen and on the Eng- 
lishmen's backs. W^hen the Genoways were assembled together 
and began to approach, they uttered very great cries to abash 
the Englishmen, but they stood still and stirred not for all that ; 
then the Genoways again the second time made a great and 
a fell cry, and stept forward a little, and the Englishmen 
removed not one foot ; thirdly again they cried out and then 
they shot fiercely with their crossbows. Then the English 
archers stept forth one pace and let fly their arrows, so wholly 
and so thick that it seemed snow. When the Genoways felt 
the arrows piercing through heads, arms, and breasts, many of 
them did cast down their crossbows and did cut their strings 
and returned discomfited. When the French king saw them 
fly away, he said, " Slay these rascals, for they shall let and 
trouble us without reason." Then ye should have seen the 
men of arms dash in among them and kill a great number 
of them ; and ever still the Englishmen shot whereas they saw 
thickest press ; the sharp arrows ran into the men of arms and 
into their horses, and many fell, horse and men, among the 
Genoways, and when they were down they could not rise 



244 Readings in English History 

again ; the press was so thick that one overthrew another. And 
also among the Enghshmen there were certain rascals that 
went afoot with great knives, and they went in among the men 
of arms and slew and murdered many as they lay on the ground, 
both earls, barons, knights, and squires, whereof the king of 
England was after displeased, for he had rather they had been 
taken prisoners. 

The valiant king of Bohemia, called Charles of Luxembourg, 
for all that he was nigh blind, when he understood the order 
of the battle, he said to them about him, "Where is the lord 
Charles, my son?" His men said, "Sir, we cannot tell; we 
think he be fighting." Then he said : "Sirs, ye be my men, 
my companions and friends in this journey. I require you to 
bring me so far forward that I may strike one stroke with my 
sword." They said they would do his commandment, and to 
the intent that they should not lose him in the press, they tied 
all their reins of their bridles each to the other and set the 
king before to accomplish his desire, and so they went on their 
enemies. The lord Charles of Bohemia, his son, who wrote 
himself king of Almaine and bare the arms, he came in good 
order to the battle ; but when he saw that the matter went 
awry on their party, he departed, I cannot tell you which way. 
The king, his father, was so far forward that he strake a stroke 
with his sword, yea, and more than four, and fought valiantly, 
and so did his company ; and they adventured themselves so 
forward that they were there all slain, and the next day they 
were found in the place about the king, and all their horses 
tied each to the other. . . . 
The Black In the morning, the day of the battle, certain Frenchmen 
and Almains perforce opened the archers of the Prince's battle 
and came and fought with the men of arms, hand to hand. 
Then the second battle of the Englishmen came to succor 
the Prince's battle, the which was time, for they had as then 
much ado ; and they with the Prince sent a messenger to the 
king who was on a little windmill hill. Then the knight said 
to the king : " Sir, the earl of Warwick, and the earl of Oxford, 
Sir Raynold Cobham, and other, such as be about the Prince, 
your son, are fiercely fought withal and are sorely handled ; 



Prince wins 
his spurs 



i 



77^1? First Half of tJie Hundred Years' War 245 

wherefore they desire you that you and your battle will come 
and aid them ; for if the Frenchmen increase, as they doubt 
they will, your son and they shall have much ado." Then the 
king said, " Is my son dead or hurt on the earth felled? " 
" No, sir," quoth the knight, " but he is hardly matched ; 
wherefore he hath need of your aid." "Well," said the king, 
" return to him and to them that sent you hither, and say to 
them that they send no more to me for any adventure that 
falleth, as long as my son is alive ; and also say to them that 
they suffer him this day to win his spurs ; for if God be pleased, I 
will this journey be his and the honor thereof, and to them that 
be about him." Then the knight returned again to them and 
shewed the king's words, the which greatly encouraged them, 
and repoined in that they had sent to the king as they did. 

In the evening the French king, who had left about him no 
more than a threescore persons, one and other, whereof Sir 
John of Hainault was one, who had remounted once the king, 
for his horse was slain with an arrow, then he said to the king, 
" Sir, depart hence, for it is time ; lose not yourself wilfully ; 
if ye have loss at this time, ye shall recover it again another 
season." And so he took the king's horse by the bridle and 
led him away in a manner perforce. Then the king rode until 
he came to the castle of Broye. The gate was closed, because 
it was by that time dark ; then the king called the captain, 
who came to the walls and said, "Who is it that calleth there this 
time of night? " Then the king said, "Open your gate quickly, 
for this is the fortune of France." The captain knew then it 
was the king, and opened the gate and let down the bridge. 
Then the king entered, and he had with him but five barons, 
Sir John of Hainault, Sir Charles of Montgomery, the lord of 
Beaujeu, the lord d'Aubigny, and the lord of Montsault. The 
king would not tarry there, but drank and departed thence about 
midnight, and so rode by such guides as knew the country till 
he came in the morning to Amiens, and there he rested. 

This Saturday the Englishmen never departed from their 
battles for chasing of any man, but kept still their field, and 
ever defended themselves against all such as came to assail 
them. This battle ended about evensong time. 



246 Rcadmgs in EnglisJi History 

II. The Culmination of the Reign of Edward III 

An idea of the show and gallantry of the tournaments 
and festivals of this period can be obtained from this 
description by the chronicler Adam of Murimuth, of a 
famous gathering at Windsor held by Edward while home 
on a visit after his first invasion of France, and of the 
foundation of the order of the Knights of the Garter, 
which the chronicler fancifully describes as if it were a 
revival of Arthur's Round Table. 

139. A tour- In the year 1344 the king, Edward III, ordered a great 
nament at tournament to be held on the nineteenth day of January in the 
(1344) place of his birth, that is, in the castle of Windsor ; and this 

he caused to be publicly proclaimed a sufficiently long time 
beforehand as well in foreign parts as in England. He invited 
to this by his own letters all the ladies of the south of Eng- 
land and the wives of the citizens of London. There assem- 
bled in the said castle on Sunday, the twentieth of January, 
earls, barons, knights, and very many ladies. There the king 
provided the customary banquet so that the great hall was filled 
with the ladies, not a single man being present excepting only 
two knights who had come from France for this occasion. At 
this banquet there were present two queens, nine countesses, 
wives of the barons, knights, and citizens, who could not easily 
be counted, and who had been placed by the king himself in 
their seats according to rank. 

The Prince of Wales, the duke of Cornwall, the earls, 
barons, and knights ate together with the people in a tent and 
other places where food supplies and all other necessaries had 
been prepared freely for all without murmur ; and in the even- 
ing there was dancing. For the three following days the king 
with nineteen other knights kept a jousting against all who 
came from without ; and the same lord, not on account of 
royal favor but because of great skill which he showed and 
because of the good fortune which he had, for three days 
gained the palm among those at home. A foreign lord, knight 



The First Half of the Himdred Years War 247 
of Stapleton, gained the victory on the first day, on the second Supposed 



foundation 
of the Order 



Philip Despenser, on the third John Blount. On the Thursday 
following the tournament of the sons, the lord king gave a ban- of the Garter 
quet at which he founded the order of the Round Table, and 
under a certain form belonging to the said Round Table he 
received the oaths of certain earls, barons, and knights whom 
he wished to belong to this said Round Table ; and he fixed 
the day for holding the Round Table for the next day of Pen- 
tecost following, giving to all present the right of returning 
home with their badges of honor. Afterwards he ordered a 
very fine building to be erected there, in which the said Round 
Table could meet at the designated time. For the erection of 
this building he brought in stonecutters, carpenters, and other 
workmen, ordering w'ood as well as stone to be procured, 
sparing neither labor nor expense. 

The treaty concluded at Bretigny was long and de- 
tailed, since it was designed to put an end to all excuse 
for further hostilities. The extracts here given illustrate 
the humiliations inflicted by the terms of the treaty on 
the French, who not only were forced to surrender ter- 
ritory to the English kings but to assume a heavy war 
debt, desert their Scotch allies, and send their nobles 
as hostages to England. 

Charles, eldest son of the king of France, regent of the 140. Ex- 
kingdom, duke of Normandy, and dauphin of Vienne, to all *^^*^^^ *^°°^ 
those who shall see these letters, greeting. of Bretigny 

We make known to you that concerning all debates and (1360) 
discussions whatsoever moved and arisen between Monsieur, 
the king of France, and us, for him and for ourselves and for 
all those to whom it appertains, on the one part, and the king 
of England and all those whom it touches on his side, on the 
other, for the good of the land, it is- agreed, the 8th day of 
May, the year of grace 1360, at Bretigny of Chartres, as fol- 
lows : first, that the king of England, along with what he 
holds in Guienne and in Gascony, shall have for himself and 
his heirs, perpetually and for all time, all the possessions that 



248 



Readings in English History 



follow, to be held in the manner which the king of France 
and his sons or any of his ancestors, kings of France, held them ; 
that is to say, that which is in domain in domain and that 
which is in fief in fief, in the manner explained below. 

The city, the castle, and the country of Poitiers and all the 
land and county of Poitou. . . . 

Likewise, the king of England shall have the castle and the 
city of Calais. . . . 

Likewise, it is agreed that the king of England and his heirs 
shall have and hold all the islands adjacent to the lands, coun- 
tries, and places above named, together with all the other 
islands which the said king of England holds at present. 

Likewise, it is agreed that the king of France will pay to 
the king of England 3,000,000 gold crowns, of which two are 
worth one noble, English money; and as hostages, who shall 
remain for the king of France, as well those who were taken 
prisoners at the battle of Poitiers, as others ; that is to say, 
Monsieur Louis, count of Anjou, Monsieur John, count of Poi- 
tou, sons of the king of France, the duke of Orleans, brother 
of the said king, the duke of Bourbon, the count of Blois. . . . 

Likewise, it is agreed that the king of France and his eldest 
son, the regent, for themselves and for their heirs, kings of 
France, so soon as it can be done, shall withdraw and depart 
from every alliance which they have with the Scots, and they 
will promise, so far as they are able, never hereafter, they or 
their heirs or those who shall be kings of France hereafter, at 
any time to give to the king or kingdom of Scotland nor to its 
subjects, present or to come, comfort, aid, or favor, against 
the said king of England or against his subjects in any way, 
and that they will not make any other alliances with the said 
Scots in any time to come, against the said king and kingdom 
of England. 

And likewise, as soon as possible, the king of England and 
his eldest son will withdraw and depart from all the alliances 
which they have with the Flemings. 

The importance of the archers in the English army 
— which has already been illustrated in the account of 



TJie First Half of the Himdrcd Years War 249 

the battle of Cressy — was recognized by the English 
government, and a long series of proclamations and 
laws, of which this was the first, were issued to prevent 
the loss of skill in archery. 

The king to the lord lieutenant of Kent, greeting. 

Whereas the people of our realm, gentle and simple alike, i4i.Aprocla- 
were wont formerly in their games to practice skill in archery, ?^^*^°°,*° 
— whence, by the help of God, it is well known that high use of the 
honor and advantage came unto our realm, and no mean long-bow 
advantage to ourselves in our feats of war, — and that now, ^^ ^ 
the said skill in archery having fallen almost wholly into dis- 
repute, our people give themselves up to the throwing of 
stones and of wood and of iron ; and some to handball and 
football and hockey; some to coursing and cock fighting; 
and some to other unseemly sports that be even less useful 
and manly ; whereby our realm — which God forbid — will 
soon, as it appeareth, be stripped of archers : 

We, wishing that a fitting remedy be found in this matter, 
do hereby command you that, in all places in your county, 
liberties or no liberties, wheresoever you shall see fit, you have 
proclamation made to this effect : that every man in the same 
county, if he be able-bodied, shall, upon holidays, make use, 
in his games, of bows and arrows, or darts, or both, and learn 
and practice archery. 

Moreover, you are to prohibit all and sundry in our name 
from such stone, wood, and iron throwing ; handball, football, or 
hockey ; coursing and cock fighting ; or other such idle games 
which are of no usefulness ; under penalty of imprisonment. 

By the king, at Westminster, June i, 1363. 

III. The Quarrel over Appointments from Rome 

Appointments made by the pope to positions in the 
English church were always unpopular, especially so at 
this period of strong national feeling. Sometimes such 
appointees were Englishmen who had served at the 



250 Readings in English History 

papal court and whom the pope wished to reward. In 
other instances they were foreigners, — Itahans or 
Frenchmen. The following is the preamble of a law 
passed in 1379, directed especially against such ap- 
pointments of foreigners. 

142. Pream- The king hath perceived that . . . benefices ^ have been 

bie of a law given, against the will of the founders, to divers people of an- 
against pro- °,,'^ ,, ,, , •, 

visors (1379) Other language, and of strange lands and nations, and some- 
times to the actual enemies of the king and of his realm ; 
which never made residence in the same, nor cannot, may not, 
nor will not in any wise bear and perform the charges of the 
same benefices, in hearing confessions, preaching, teaching the 
people, keeping hospitality, or accomplishing the other things 
necessary to the governance of the same benefices. These men 
only seek and take the emoluments and temporal profits, not 
having regard to the spiritual cure, nor to other charges per- 
taining or belonging to the same benefices ; and manifestly 
suffer the noble buildings in the old times there made, when 
the same benefices were occupied by Englishmen, wholly to 
fall to decay. Thus divine service is greatly diminished, the 
cure of souls neglected and left, the clergy enfeebled, the 
treasure of the said realm carried to the hands of aliens, and 
all the estate of the holy church brought to less reverence 
than before it was wont to be. . . . 

[All Englishmen are forbidden to act as agents for such 
foreign ecclesiastics or to transmit any money to them from 
their benefices. No English bishop shall give any assistance 
to them in obtaining any profits from their benefices.] 

A similar law was soon afterward passed prohibiting 
Englishmen from seeking papal appointment, and mak- 
ing such appointments void. 

That no liegeman of the king, of what estate or condition 
that he be, great or small, shall pass over the sea, nor send 

^ I.e. church positions bringing in an income, as tliose of bishops, 
canons in cathedrals, abbots of monasteries, or priests of parish churches. 



The First Half of the Hundred Years War 25 i 

out of the realm of England, with license or without license, 143. A law 
unless by special leave of the king himself, to provide or pur- 1^^\°^^ 
chase for himself benefice of holy church, with cure or with- seeking papal 
out cure, in the said realm ; and that if any do so, and by virtue appoint- 
of such provision accept for himself or for another any bene- °^^" ^ ^^^ 
fice of the same realm, at that time the same provisor shall be 
out of the king's protection and the same benefice void, so 
that it shall be lawful to the patron of the same benefice, 
whether spiritual or temporal, to appoint to the same an able 
clergyman at his pleasure. 

The following law, passed in 1393, was the culmi- 
nation of the long series of statutes of provisors and 
praemunire, and remained the law till superseded by 
the statutes passed at the opening of the Reformation, 
though it was not regularly enforced. 

Whereas the Commons of the realm in this present parlia- 144. Last 

ment have showed to our redoubtable lord the king, grievously statute of 

1 J 1 1 • J 11 praemunire 

complaining, that whereas the said our lord the kmg and all (1393) 

his liege people ought of right, and of old time were wont, to 
sue in the king's court, to recover their presentments to 
churches, prebends, and other benefices of Holy Church, to the 
which they had right to present. , . . But now of late divers 
processes are made by the holy father the pope, and censures 
of excommunication upon certain bishops of England, because 
they made execution of such commandments, to the open dis- 
herison of the said crown and destruction of our said lord the 
king, his law and all his realm, if remedy be not provided. 
. . . Whereupon our said lord the king, by the assent afore- 
said, and at the request of his said Commons, has ordained 
and established, that if any purchase or sue for, or cause to be 
purchased or sued for, in the court of Rome or elsewhere, 
any such translations, processes, and sentences of excommuni- 
cation, bulls, instruments, or any other things whatsoever, 
which touch our lord the king, against him, his crown, his 
royalty or his realm, as is aforesaid, and they which bring the 
same within the realm, or receive them, or make thereof 



252 Readifigs in English History 

■ notification, or any other execution whatsoever within the 
•same realm or without ; that they, their notaries, procurators, 
maintainers, abettors, favorers, and counselors, shall be put 
out of the king's protection, and their lands and tenements, 
goods and chattels, forfeited to our lord the king; and that 
they be attached by their bodies, if they may be found, and 
brought before the king and his council, there to answer to 
the cases aforesaid, or that process be made against them by 
praemunire facias, in manner as it is ordained in other statutes 
concerning provisors and others who sue in any other court 
in derogation of the royalty of our lord the king. 

The following extract from the chronicle of Adam of 
Usk, written shortly after this time, gives an autobio- 
graphical account of his journey to Rome in 1402 with 
the expectation of receiving in due time an appointment 
in England from the pope. Such appointments of natives 
would not have been as objectionable as foreign appoint- 
ments ; nevertheless they were forbidden by the laws, 
and Adam was not one of the favored exceptions. 

145. Extracts And now, O God, thou, who of thine unbounded grace 

from the didst grant me to fulfill my student's time at Oxford and the 
chronicle of , ° , , , -^ , , , , 

Adam of Usk three years doctor s course, and then seven years duty as 

pleader in the court of Canterbury, and in all other business 

whatsoever hast been my help, from the days of my youth to 

old age and decay, desert me not ; but make of me an example 

for goodness, that they who come nigh me may behold and be 

Adam's astonished, since thou hast helped and comforted me. And 

prayer ^^^ grant that my journey to Rome, as thou hast ordered it, 

both in my going thithef and in my departing thence to return 

hither according to my desire, whether I be numbered among 

advocates or auditors, may mercifully receive thy consolation, 

to the honor and praise of thy name, and to my welfare in 

either man, and with threefold honor and temporal wealth. 

His narrative To be short ; on the 19th of February, in the year of 

our Lord 1402, I, the writer of this history, as by the will of 

God I determined, took ship at Billingsgate in London, and 



TJie First Half of tJie HiDidred Years' War 253 

with a favoring wind crossed the sea, and, within the space of 
a day, landing at Bergen-op-Zoom, in Brabant, the country 
which I sought, I set my face towards Rome. Thence passing 
through Diest, Maastricht, Aachen, Cologne, Bonn, Coblentz, 
Worms, Speyer, Strassburg, Breisach, Basel, Bern, Lucerne The familiar 
and its wonderful lake, Mount St. Gotthard and the hermitage '■o"*^ into 
on its summit (where I was drawn m a cart by an ox, half Rhine and 
frozen with cold and with mine eyes blindfolded lest I should St. Gotthard 
see the dangers of the passage), on the eve of Palm Sunday ^^^ 
[March i8th] I arrived at Bellinzona, in Lombardy. Thence 
through Como, Milan, Piacenza, Borgo-San-Donnino, Terenzo, 
Pontremoli, Pietrasanta, Pisa, Siena, and Viterbo, turning aside 
from Bologna, Florence, and Perugia, on account of the rag- 
ing wars and sieges of the duke of Milan (of whom hereafter) 
and the perils thereof, and halting for two days at every good 
inn for refreshment of myself and men, and still more of my 
horses, — on the 5 th of April, by the favor of God and by the 
fear caused by our escort, I came safely through all to Rome. 
And within a fortnight after, being presented, with his recom- 
mendation, by the lord Balthasar, cardinal deacon of St. 
Eustace, afterwards Pope John XXIII, to our lord Pope Boni- 
face IX, by whom I was honorably received to the kiss of foot, 
hand, and cheek, and then being given over to the cardinal 
of Bologna, afterwards Pope Innocent VII, to be examined as 
to my knowledge, and by him approved, I was within a fort- 
night, by the advice of the pope and the Rota, raised to the 
dignity of papal chaplain and auditor of the apostolic palace Appointed a 
and judge of the city and world, being invested by the pope ^iiapiam and 
himself with the ensigns of office, namely the cope, rochet, papal service 
and hat. And within a week after the pope assigned thirty 
grave cases, which had been referred to his hearing, to me to 
be determined. ... 

Contrary to the statutes of provisors, the pope conferred 
on me, the writer of this history, the archdeaconry of Buck- 
ingham, with the churches of Knoyle, Tisbury, and Deverill, 
in England ; but, the Welsh war preventing this, he gave me 
the archdeaconry of Llandaff and Csermarthen, with the church 
of Llandefailog and the prebend of Llanbister. . . . 



2 54 Readings in English History 

These things I heard of at Rome. And there everything was 
bought and sold, so that benefices were given not for desert, 
but to the highest bidder. Whence every man who had wealth 
and was greedy for empty glory kept his money in the mer- 
chant's bank to further his advancement. And therefore, as, 
when under the old dispensation the priests were corrupted 
with venality, the three miracles ceased, namely, the unquench- 
able fire of the priesthood, the sweet smell of sacrifice which 
offendeth not, and the smoke which ever riseth up, so I fear it 
will come to pass under the new dispensation. And methinks 
the danger standeth daily knocking at the very doors of the 
church. ... In these days, the church of Hereford being 
vacant, the pope made disposition thereof in favor of me, the 
writer of this history, but through the envy of the English who 
opposed me and by letters belied me with poisonous words to 
the king, whereby I passed four years on sea and land in the 
miseries of exile, I got not advancement but rather abasement, 
and suffered the last degree of poverty, stripped of benefices 
and goods, and, like Joseph, hearing among strangers a foreign 
tongue, albeit I was paid with gold for my counsel. 

Meanwhile in England many parliaments were held, where- 
in both more stringent statutes were passed against papal pro- 
visions, and more than was wont the clergy and people were 
taxed with heavier taxes. . . . The church of London being 
vacant, the college of auditors with one accord went up and 
besought the pope to translate thither the lord Guy de Mona, 
bishop of St. David's, and to make provision of the church of 
St. David's to me, the writer of this history. Which thing was 
A'ery pleasing to him, and he said : " We thank you heartily 
that you have thus recommended him to us ; and we rejoice 
at so good an occasion of making provision for him of a better 
church in his own country, for the church is one of dignity. 
We know his good fame, and we knew also the same Guy de 
Mona at the time when we were collector in England." But 
the matter being noised about, my enemies, with mighty clamor 
and speech declared against it to the king and to the cardi- 
nals who held benefices in England, threatening the latter that, 
if they should allow this thing, they would lose their benefices 



TJie First Half of tJie Hundred Years War 255 

by the king's displeasure ; and they swore that the king would 
send me to prison and the gallows. Moreover they forbade the 
merchants to lend me money, under pain of expelling their 
partners out of England. And this was the chief hindrance of 
the matter ; and so it fell to the ground. 



\\ IV. The Black Death and its Effects 

The following account of the Black Death was written 
by Henry Knighton, a clergyman connected with the 
church at Leicester, who was a boy at the time of its 
occurrence, but had abundance of direct information 
concerning it. 

Then the grievous plague penetrated the seacoasts from 146. a con 
Southampton, and came to Bristol, and there almost the whole temporary 
strength of the town died, struck, as it were, by sudden death ; the°Biack 
for there were few who kept their beds more than three days, Death 
or two days, or half a day ; and after this the fell death broke 
forth on every side with the course of the sun. There died at 
Leicester in the small parish of St. Leonard more than 380 ; in 
the parish of Holy Cross, more than 400 ; in the parish of St. 
Margaret of Leicester, more than 700; and so in each parish 
a great number. Then the bishop of Lincoln sent through the 
whole bishopric, and gave general power to all and every priest, 
both regular and secular, to hear confessions, and absolve with 
full and entire episcopal authority except in matters of debt, 
in which case the dying man, if he could, should pay the debt 
while he lived, or others should certainly fulfill that duty from 
his property after his death. Likewise, the pope granted full 
remission of all sins to whoever was absolved in peril of death, 
and granted that this power should last till next Easter, and 
every one could choose a confessor at his will. In the same 
year there was a great plague of sheep everywhere in the realm, 
so that in one place there died in one pasturage more than 
5000 sheep, and so rotted that neither beast nor bird would 
touch them. And there were small prices for everything on 



256 Readings in English History 

account of the fear of death. For there were very few who 
cared about riches or anything else ; for a man could have a 
horse, which before w^as worth 40 j-., for ds. ^d., a fat ox for 4^., 
a cow for 12 d., a heifer for 6 d., a fat wether for 4 d., a sheep 
for 3 d., a lamb for 2 d., a big pig for 5 d., a stone of wool for 
<)d. Sheep and cattle went wandering over fields and through 
crops, and there was no one to go and drive or gather them, 
so that the number cannot be reckoned which perished in the 
ditches and hedges in every district, for lack of herdsmen ; for 
there was such a lack of servants that no one knew what he 
ought to do. In the following autumn no one could get a 
reaper for less than 8</. with his food, a mower for less than 
12 d. with his food. Wherefore many crops perished in the 
fields for want of some one to gather them ; but in the pesti- 
lence year, as is above said of other things, there was such 
abundance of grain that no one troubled about it. . . . 
Increased Meanwhile the king sent proclamation into all the counties 
wages pro- ^^^^lX. reapers and other laborers should not take more than they 
the first ^ h^*^ been accustomed to take under a penalty appointed by 
statute of statute. But the laborers were so lifted up and obstinate that 
laborers ^.j^gy ^yould not listen to the king's command : if any one 
wished to have them he had to give them what they wanted, 
and either lose his fruit and crops, or satisfy the lofty and 
covetous wishes of the workmen. And when it was known to 
the king that men had not observed his command, and had 
given greater wages to the laborers, he levied heavy fines upon 
abbots, priors, knights, greater and lesser, and other great folk 
and small folk of the realm, of some looj-., of some 40 j-., of 
some 20s., from each according to what he could give. He 
took from each plowland of the realm 20^., and, notwithstand- 
ing this, a fifteenth. And afterwards the king had many laborers 
arrested and sent them to prison ; many withdrew themselves 
and went into the forests and woods ; and those who were 
taken were heavily fined. Their ringleaders were made to 
swear that they would not take daily wages beyond the ancient 
custom, and then were freed from prison. And in like manner 
it was done with the other craftsmen in the boroughs and vil- 
lages. . . . After the aforesaid pestilence many buildings, 



The First Half of the Hundred Years War 257 

great and small, fell into ruins in every city, borough, and vil- 
lage for lack of inhabitants, likewise many villages and hamlets 
became desolate, not a house being left in them, all having 
died who dwelt there ; and it was probable that many such 
villages would never be inhabited. In the winter following 
there was such a want of servants in work of all kinds, that one 
would scarcely believe that in times past there had ever been 
such a lack. . . . And so all necessaries became so much 
dearer that what in times past had been worth a penny was 
then worth 4 ^. or 5 d. 

Magnates and lesser lords of the realm who had tenants 
made abatements of the rent in order that the tenants should 
not go away on account of the want of servants and the general 
dearness, some half the rent, some more, some less, some for 
two years, some for three, some for one year, according as 
they could agree with them. Likewise, those who received of 
their tenants day work throughout the year, as is the practice 
with villains, had to give them more leisure and remit such 
works, and either entirely to free them or give, them an 
easier tenure at a small rent, so that homes should not be 
everywhere irrecoverably ruined, and the land everywhere 
remain entirely uncultivated. 

After the renewal of the war in France in 1 369, it went 
so badly that the English might traverse all the country 
and yet reap nothing but suffering and loss, as described 
in the following extract from the chronicler Walsingham. 

In the year 1373 John, duke of Lancaster, the king's son, 147. Anexpe- 

and brother of the prince of Wales, crossed over to France "^^tion 

, . . , J • o through 

with a great army to try his fortune there a second time, bo prance (1373) 

he marched by way of Paris to Burgundy, and indeed through 

the length of France, meeting none willing or daring to offer 

resistance. But in this expedition he inflicted practically no 

loss upon the French, except that he set some towms and 

places to ransom ; but otherwise he hurt none of the enemy. 

At last he retired with his army from France — where there 

were abundant provisions and sumptuous meals to be had 



258 Readings in English History 

every day — and advanced into the uninhabited Auvergne, 
where there could be found neither provisions for the men 
nor fodder for the horses ; accordingly considerable numbers 
of his army perished there from hunger and pestilence, while 
the horses were nearly all lost. At last, sick at heart from his 
misfortune, he entered Aquitaine, and so arrived at Bordeaux. 
For, whereas, when he entered France at Calais he had had 
more than thirty thousand horses with him, now he brought 
very few alive with him into Bordeaux ; and there might be 
seen a sorry sight — soldiers of name and birth, once dainty 
and rich in English lands, now with their men and baggage 
lost, begging their bread ; and there was no man to give 
them. For, indeed, the land had been ravaged before their 
arrival by the French, and so had remained unfilled till then. 



V. The Political and the Social Struggle 

Such fruitless and inglorious campaigns as that just 
described, along with much mismanagement and corrup- 
tion at home, roused the people to demand reforms, some 
of which were attained, at least temporarily, in the " Good 
Parliament." This is described in an anonymous history, 
known as the Oironicon Angliae. 

148. The In the year of grace 1376, which was the fiftieth year of 

Good Parh^a- King Edward, the third from the Conquest, in the beginning 
of the month of May, King Edward caused a great parliament 
to be called at Westminster ; at which, in accordance with 
his usual custom, he asked from the people that a certain sub- 
sidy be granted to him for the defense of the kingdom. In 
replying to him they said that they were frequently worried in 
various ways by such impositions, and they said truly that they 
could not bear such burdens without the greatest loss. For it 
was clearly evident to them that the king had sufificient for 
the defense of his kingdom, if the kingdom were ruled pru- 
dently and faithfully, but as long as there was such govern- 
ment in the kingdom as was then being carried on by the 



ment (1376) 



The First Half of the Hundred Years War 259 

wicked officials, the kingdom would never abound in resources 
or wealth. They offered to prove this clearly, and if after this 
proof it should be found that the king needed anything, they 
would aid him according to their ability. In the progress of 
events many things were said about the favorites of the king, 
his various other officers, and especially Lord Latimer, his chan- 
cellor, who influenced the king in the worst way. 

Wherefore, the duke of Lancaster, Lord Latimer, and sev- 
eral other officers of the king were removed and others substi- 
tuted in their places. Likewise, at the petition of the community, 
it was ordained that certain bishops and earls of praiseworthy 
lives should rule the king and kingdom for the rest. This had 
to be done, as the king was already verging on senility and 
needed helpers of this kind. But this change lasted scarcely 
three months, inasmuch as it was hindered by those who had 
been removed from the king, as was mentioned above. Like- 
wise, the knights in parliament complained seriously of a cer- 
tain shameless woman, Alice Ferrers, by name, who was much 
too intimate with the lord King Edward. They accused her of 
very many evil deeds, committed by her and her favorers in 
the kingdom, for she far exceeded womanly modesty. Forget- 
ful of her sex and weakness, now by remaining with the justi- 
ciars of the king, now by collecting about her the doctors in 
the ecclesiastical courts, she did not fear to urge them to a de- 
fense of cases, and to even demand decisions contrary to the 
laws. On account of the scandal and serious dishonor which 
was coming from this to King Edward, not only in this country, 
but even in foreign lands, the knights begged that she should 
be entirely removed from him. 

Likewise, in this parliament, certain notable ill doings were 
brought to light on the part of Richard Lyons and Adam de Bury, 
citizens and merchants of London. The former of these, by 
means of money, very wisely and prudently escaped from a de- 
served punishment ; the latter, overcome by the fine placed upon 
him, fled straightway to Flanders in order to save himself there. 

Notwithstanding this opposition to the advisers of 
Edward III, parliament was ready, in the first year of 



26o Readings in English History 

his successor, to grant a new tax, the first of the famous 
poll taxes, as shown in the following statute. 

149. The The noble lords and the Commons assembled in this parlia- 
first poll tax nient, perceiving clearly the great charges and the very griev- 
ous and insupportable expenses which our lord the king makes 
and still must needs make more and more every day, as well, 
that is to say, in the maintenance of the war and the defense 
of the realm of England, as otherwise; of their common assent 
and free will have granted to our said lord the king, in main- 
tenance of his said wars, fourpence to be taken of the goods 
of each person of the said realm, as well males as females, 
above the age of fourteen years ; excepting only genuine men- 
dicants, without fraud. Praying most humbly to their said liege 
lord that it will please him to excuse them because they are 
not now able to grant a greater subsidy ; for they would have 
been most willing to do this if it had not been that they had 
been so impoverished in the past, as well by great losses on 
the sea, as otherwise by bad years which have befallen them 
so that they are not able to do more at present. 

If the middle and upper classes were dissatisfied with 
the government, the lower classes were still more deeply 
discontented both with the government and with those 
above them. There are many indications of this, one of 
which is the kind of communistic doctrines preached by 
such men as John Ball, as told by Froissart. 

150. A ser- Of this imagination was a foolish priest in the county of 
monof John j^gj-^^. called John Ball, who, for his foolish words, had been 

three times in the archbishop of Canterbury's prison ; for this 
priest used oftentimes, on the Sundays after mass, when the 
people were going out of the minster, to go into the cloister 
and preach, and made the people to assemble about him, and 
would say thus, " Ah, ye good people, the matter goeth not 
well to pass in England, nor shall not do so till everything be 
common, and that there be no villains nor gentlemen, but that 
we may be all united together, and that the lords be no greater 



The First. Half of the Hundred Years War 261 

masters than we be. What have we deserved, or why should 
we be kept thus in serfdom ? We be all come from one father 
and one mother, Adam and Eve; whereby can they say or 
shew that they be greater lords than we be, saving by that 
they cause us to win and labor for what they dispend? They 
are clothed in velvet and camlet furred with grise, and we be 
vestured with poor cloth ; they have their wines, spices, and 
good bread, and we have the drawing out of the chaff and 
drink water ; they dwell in fair houses and we have the pain 
and travail, rain and wind in the fields ; and by what cometh 
of our labors they keep and maintain their estates : we be 
called their bondmen, and without we do readily them serv- 
ice, we be beaten ; and we have no sovereign to whom we 
may complain, nor that will hear us and do us right. Let us 
go to the king, — he is young, — and shew him what serfage we An appeal to 
be in, and shew him how we will have it otherwise, or else we will ^'"S Richard 
provide us with some remedy, either by fairness or otherwise." 
Thus John Ball said on Sundays, when the people issued out 
of the churches in the villages ; wherefore many of the mean 
people loved him, and such as intended to no goodness said 
how he said truth ; and so they would murmur one with an- 
other in the fields and in the ways as they went together, 
affirming how John Ball said truth. 

^ Very full accounts of the Peasants' Rebellion are left 
by a number of the chroniclers. One of the best is that 
by Henry Knighton, extracts from v^hich follow^, describ- 
ing especially the events at London. 

In the year 1381, the second of the reign of King Richard 151. The 
Second, during the month of May, on Wednesday, the fourth 
day after the feast of Trinity, that impious band began to 
assemble from Kent, from Surrey, and from many other sur- 
rounding places. Apprentices also, leaving their masters, rushed 
to join these. And so they gathered on Blackheath, where, for- 
getting themselves in their multitude, and neither contented 
with their former cause nor appeased by smaller crimes, they un- 
mercifully planned greater and worse evils and determined not 



Peasants' 
Rebellion 



262 Readings in English History 

to desist from their wicked undertaking until they should have 
entirely extirpated the nobles and great men of the kingdom. 
Liberation of So at first they directed their course of iniquity to a certain 
John Ball town of the archbishop of Canterbury called Maidstone, in 
which there was a jail of the said archbishop, and in the said 
jail was a certain John Ball, a chaplain who was considered 
among the laity to be a very famous preacher ; many times in 
the past he had foolishly spread abroad the word of God, by 
mixing tares with wheat, too pleasing to the laity and extremely 
dangerous to the liberty of ecclesiastical law and order, exe- 
crably introducing into the church of Christ many errors 
among the clergy and laymen. For this reason he had been 
tried as a clerk and convicted in accordance with the law, 
being seized and assigned to this same jail for his permanent 
abiding place. On the Wednesday before the feast of the 
Consecration they came into Surrey to the jail of the king at 
Marshalsea, where they broke the jail without delay, forcing 
all imprisoned there to come with them to help them ; and 
whomsoever they met, whether pilgrims or others of whatever 
condition, they forced to go with them. 

On the Friday following the feast of the Consecration they 
came over the bridge to London ; here no one resisted them, 
although, as was said, the citizens of London knew of their 
advance a long time before ; and so they directed their way 
to the Tower where the king was surrounded by a great throng 
of knights, esquires, and others. It was said that there were 
in the Tower about one hundred and fifty knights together 
with one hundred and eighty others, with the mother of the 
king, the duchess of Britanny, and many other ladies ; and 
there was present, also, Henry, earl of Derby, son of John, 
duke of Lancaster, who was still a youth ; so, too, Simon of 
Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury and chancellor of England, 
and brother Robert de Hales, prior of the Hospital of Eng- 
land and treasurer of the king. 

John Leg and a certain John, a Minorite, a man active in 
warlike deeds, skilled in natural sciences, an intimate friend 
of Lord John, duke of Lancaster, hastened with three others 
to the Tower for refuge, intending to hide themselves under 



TJie First Half of the Hundred Years' War 263 

the wings of the king. The people had determined to kill the 
archbishop and the others above mentioned with him ; for 
this reason they came to this place, and afterwards they ful- 
filled their vows. The king, however, desired to free the arch- 
bishop and his friends from the jaws of the wolves, so he sent 
to the people a command to assemble outside the city, at a 
place called Mile End, in order to speak with the king and to 
treat with him concerning their designs. The soldiers who 
were to go forward, consumed with folly, lost heart, and gave 
up, on the way, their boldness of purpose. Nor did they dare 
to advance, but, unfortunately, struck as they were by fear, like 
women, kept themselves within the Tower. 

But the king advanced to the assigned place, while many of Conference 
the wicked mob kept following him. . . . More, however, re- ^* "^'^^ ^"'^ 
mained where they were. When the others had come to the 
king they complained that they had been seriously oppressed 
I1V many hardships and that their condition of servitude was 
unbearable, and that they neither could nor would endure it 
longer. The king, for the sake of peace, and on account of 
the violence of the times, yielding to their petition, granted to 
them a charter with the great seal, to the effect that all men in 
the kingdom of England should be free and of free condition, 
and should remain both for themselves and their heirs free 
from all kinds of servitude and villeinage forever. This charter 
was rejected and decided to be null and void by the king and 
the great men of the kingdom in the parliament held at West- 
minster in the same year, after the feast of St. Michael. 

While these things were going on, behold those degenerate Execution 
sons, who still remained, summoned their father the archbishop °^ ^}^^. ^ 

, archbishop 

with his above-mentioned friends without any force or attack, 
without sword or arrow, or any other form of compulsion, but 
only with force of threats and excited outcries, inviting those 
men to death. But they did not cry out against it for them- 
selves, nor resist, but, as sheep before the sKearers, going forth 
barefooted with uncovered heads, ungirt, they offered them- 
selves freely to an undeserved death, just as if they had deserved 
this punishment for some murder or theft. And so, alas ! before 
the king returned, seven were killed at Tower Hill, two of them 



Smithfield 



264 Readings in E?iglisJi History 

lights of the kingdom, the worthy with the unworthy. John Leg 
and his three associates were the cause of this irreparable loss. 
Their heads were fastened on spears and sticks in order that 
they might be told from the rest. . . . 

Whatever representatives of the law they found or whatever 
men served the kingdom in a judicial capacity, these they slew 
without delay. 
Conference at On the following day, which was Saturday, they gathered 
in Smithfield, where there came to them in the morning the 
king, who although only a youth in years yet was in wisdom 
already well versed- Their leader, whose real name was Wat 
Tyler, approached him ; already they were calling him by the 
other name of Jack Straw. He kept close to the king, address- 
ing him for the rest. He carried in his hand an unsheathed 
weapon which they call a dagger, and, as if in childish play, kept 
tossing it from one hand to the other in order that he might 
seize the opportunity, if the king should refuse his requests, to 
strike the king suddenly (as was commonly believed) ; and 
from this thing the greatest fear arose among those about the 
king as to what might be the outcome. 

They begged from the king that all the warrens, and as well 
waters as park and wood, should be common to all, so that a 
poor man as well as a rich should be able freely to hunt animals 
everywhere in the kingdom, — in the streams, in the fish ponds, 
in the woods, and in the forest ; and that he might be free to 
chase the hare in the fields, and that he might do these things 
and others like them without objection. When the king hesi- 
tated about granting this concession Jack Straw came nearer, 
and, speaking threatening words, seized with his hand the bridle 
of the horse of the king very daringly. When John de Wal- 
worth, a citizen of London, saw this, thinking that death threat- 
ened the king, he seized a sword and pierced Jack Straw in the 
neck. Seeing this, another soldier, by name Radulf Standyche, 
pierced his side with another sword. He sank back, slowly 
letting go with his hands and feet, and then died. A great 
cry and much mourning arose : " Our leader is slain." When 
this dead man had been meanly dragged along by the hands 
and feet into the church of St. Bartholomew, which was near 



TIlc First Half of the Hundred Years War 265 

by, many withdrew from the band, and, vanishing, betook them- 
selves to flight, to the number it is believed of ten thousand. . . . 

After these things had happened and quiet had been restored. Executions 
the time came when the king caused the offenders to be pun- 
ished. So Lord Robert Tresillian, one of the judges, was sent 
by order of the king to inquire into the uprisings against the 
peace and to punish the guilty. Wherever he came he spared 
no one, but caused great slaughter. And just as those evil doers 
plotted in hostile manner against the judges, Lord John de 
Candishe and any others they could find, by bringing them 
to capital punishment, and against all those skilled in the laws 
of the country whom they could reach, and not sparing any one 
of them, but punishing them by capital punishment, just so 
this judge spared no one, but demanded misfortune for mis- 
fortune. For whoever was accused before him in this said 
cause, whether justly or as a matter of spite, he immediately 
passed upon him the sentence of death. He ordered some to 
be beheaded, others to be hanged, still others to be dragged 
through the city and hanged in four different parts thereof ; 
others to be disemboweled, and the entrails to be burned before 
them while they were still alive, and afterwards to be decapi- 
tated, quartered, and hanged in four parts of the city according 
to the greatness of the crime and its desert. John Ball was 
captured at Coventry and led to St. Alban's, where, by order of 
the king, he was drawn and hanged, then quartered, and his 
quarters sent to four different places. 

The following is one of a large number of records 
that remain of the trial, conviction, and execution of men 
connected with the rising. 

Pleas of the crown at Mildenhall in the presence of William 152. A trial 

de Ufford, earl of Suffolk, Roger Scales, Thomas de Morieux, ^«^°^,® ^"^^ 

° king's 

William de Elmham, John de Bourgh, and William de Wynge- judges 

field, on the Thursday following the feast of St. John the Bap- 
tist, in the fifth year of the reign of King Richard the Second. 
John Potter of Somerton, fuller, has been accused in the 
presence of the above-mentioned justices by John de Pole, 



266 Readings in English History 

formerly chamberlain of Lord John de Cavendish, recently 
chief justice of the lord king, of being the Friday next after 
the feast of Corpus Christi in the fourth year of our lord king 
at Lakyngheth, and there, with great power and in warlike man- 
ner, rising against the lord king and the dignity of the crown. 
And there on the above-mentioned day and year the said John 
Potter wickedly and treacherously in person abetted and helped 
others, betrayers and enemies of the lord king, to kill the said 
John of Cavendish. Because of this the said John Potter has 
been taken prisoner, and, having been led into the presence of 
the said justices by the sheriff, and asked how he wishes to 
acquit himself of the said felony and treachery, he claims that 
he is in no way to blame for it, and for good or evil places him- 
self upon his country. [Thereupon a jury is sworn.] And the 
jurors who have been elected and sworn with the consent of 
this same John Potter say on their oath that the said John Pot- 
ter of Somerton, fuller, is guilty of the felony and treachery 
with which he stands charged. And for this reason it has been 
decided that the said John Potter be decapitated, and that his 
head be fastened to the pillory, and that inquiry be made 
about his lands and chattels. [Thereupon he is hanged.] 

VI. Wycliffe and the Lollards 

The same chronicler from whom has been quoted the 
narrative of the Peasants' Rebellion, Henry Knighton, 
a monk of Leicester, gives the following account of Wyc- 
liffe. It is evident that he admires Wycliffe for his 
ability, but considers him what in later times would be 
called a sensational preacher, wrong in his beliefs and 
unwise in his methods of teaching. It is also evident that 
the writer believed it best that the people should not be 
encouraged to read the Bible in their own language, but 
should have it interpreted to them by the clergy. 

At this time flourished Master John Wycliffe, rector of the 
church of Lutterworth in the county of Leicester, the most 



TJie First Half of t lie Hundred Years' War 267 

eminent doctor of theology of those days. In philosophy he was 153. An ac- 

second to none, in scholastic learning incomparable. This man count of 

strove especially to eclipse th^ thoughts oif others by the depth ^ contem- ^ 

of his knowledge and the subtlety of his reasoning, and to ditTer porary 

from them in opinion. He is reported to have introduced into churchman 

the church many opinions which were condemned by the learned 

men of the universal church. These will, in part, be described 

in the proper place. He had as a forerunner John Ball, just 

as Christ had John Baptist, who prepared his way before him 

in such opinions and disturbed many by his teachings, at least 

so it is said. I have made mention of him before. This Master 

John Wycliffe translated from the Latin into the tongue of the 

Angles (though not of the angels) the gospel which Christ 

intrusted to the clergy and learned men of the church in order 

that they might gently minister it to the laity and to the weak 

according to the exigency of the times and the need and mental 

hunger of each one. Thus to the laity and even to such women 

as can read this was made more open than formerly it had been 

even to such of the clergy as were well educated and of great 

understanding. Thus the evangelical pearls have been scattered 

abroad and trampled by the swine, and that which used to be 

dear to clergy and laity is now a common jest in the mouth of 

both. The gem of the clergy has become the toy of the laity. 

From the great mass of Wycliffe's writings which still 
exist, some of them in English, some in Latin, the fol- 
lowing small fragment may be given in his own words 
and spelling. It is part of a short sermon or tract directed 
against the possession of property by clergymen, on.e of 
his favorite subjects. He thought that all clergymen 
should be poor men, living simply on the freewill offer- 
ings of the people. 

As to the possessiouns and dowyng of clerkis, bileeve shulde 154. A ser- 

teche us that it doith hem harm to kepe Cristis religioun, and ™°° '^y 

Wvcliffc 
harm to lewid men ; for Crist seith that noo man may be his 

discipul but yif he renunce alle siche thingis. And hou he shulde 

renunce, Cristis liif techith, and lif of hise apostlis that com in 



268 Readings in English History 

after hym ; and ensaumple of siche deds exponeth best Cristis 
lawe. And thus bi process of tyme is the Chirche peyred, bi 
turnyng fro Cristis lawe and bi loVe of the worlde. And herfor 
seith Poul, that coveytise is roote of all yvelis that comen to 
Goddis Chirche. And comynge inne of freris that shulden 
quenche this synne makith it mor fervent, as water fier of 
smythis. And sith thei ben apostataes that gon abac in Cristis 
ordre, few or none of siche prestis ben clene of this heresye. 
For thei forsaken Crist in kepyng of his lawe, and Crist seith 
that man mot kepe it yif he love hym. But sith love of world- 
liche thingis drawith fro love of Christ, hou myche is love 
of prests drawe now fro God ! Wantyng of workis of the gospel, 
and werkis of the world, dampneth our prestis in defaute of 
this love. And yit thei poudren blasphemye in among this 
apostasye, for thei seyen that thei haven mor power of Crist 
than ever he wolde yive to Petre or Poul. For in spiritual 
power they ben even with hem, and in worldliche power they 
passen hem ; sith Petre seith he havede nether silver ne gold, 
and Poul laborede with hise hondis ; and so her power, gederid 
togeder, in so myche passith power of Petre. 

The following are some of the sayings of the Lollard 
preachers as reported by Knighton. 

155. A Lol- These are the opinions of another man whom I heard preach. 
lard sermon That if an ecclesiastic failed in his duty and did not correct 
his fault, it was permitted to the secular lords to cut such a 
man's hair through his shoulders, even if his tonsure was large 
and newly cut, — that is to say, to cut off his head. Similarly, 
if a temporal lord failed in his duty and did not correct his 
fault, it was permitted to the people to correct him. 

On a certain Palm Sunday he preached that to multiply 
words of the lips in prayer is nothing but, in English, to 
"blabber with the hps." 

That to pay money for saying the Psalter is of no avail. 

That to pay money for celebrating mass is of no avail unless 
one has lived well ; that if one has lived well he always prays, 
and that to live well takes the place of prayer. 



The First Half of the Hundred Years' War 269 

Likewise he preached that the suffering of Christ which he suf- 
fered in his passion was greater than the entire suffering of hell. 

In the same sermon he said that Christ never commanded any- 
one to beg. And he preached this same thing in other places. 
Likewise, that Christ never said in the sacred scripture that he 
wished that a man should abandon all his property and retain 
nothing for himself. 

Likewise that every saying of Christ is a command. 

Likewise that no one ought to give alms to another who 
has better clothing and a better house than the one giving. 

Likewise that no one is truly a prelate nor fit to be one unless 
he is a learned man and a preacher. . . . 

The following anecdotes are taken from the large num- 
ber recounted at the time, to show some of the common 
opinions and actions of the Lollards. William Smyth is 
one instance of many who recanted, these earlier heretics 
yielding readily and being usually excused with a light 
punishment. 

There was present at that sermon an old knight, by name 156. The 
Cornelius Cloune, who had been an especial favorer of such 
conclusions, both holding and teaching them, and he would cioune 
not believe anything concerning the sacrament of the altar 
except that it was the mere material bread, according to the 
opinion of Wycliffe. On the eve of Holy Trinity that knight 
came to a meeting of the Preaching Brethren in London to 
hear mass ; and it happened that he heard the mass of one 
of the students of that body, and in the elevation of the body 
of Christ he saw nothing except what he had been accustomed 
to see before, so that he firmly believed that there was there 
the mere material bread. But afterward he looked at a portion 
of the host and saw, with his corporeal eye, in the hands of the 
brother who was celebrating, true flesh, raw and bleeding, divided 
into three parts. Wondering at this and frightened he called 
his squire in order that he might see, but he saw nothing except 
what he had been accustomed to see before. The knight like- 
wise in the third piece, which was to be dropped into the cup, 



miracle of 
Sir Cornelius 



270 Readings in English History 

saw the same color of white which he had seen before, but 
nevertheless he saw in the midst of this piece the name 
" Jesus " written in letters of flesh, raw and bleeding, which 
was wonderful to see. 

And the next day, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, this same 
brother, preaching, announced this same thing to the people at 
St. Paul's cross. At the end of the sermon the knight there 
present told with his own lips the whole vision publicly and 
openly, to confirm our statement, and promised that he would 
fight and die in this cause, that in the sacrament of the altar 
there was the true body of Christ and not merely material bread, 
as he himself had believed before. . . . 

A certain Master Richard Waytestathe, a chaplain, and Wil- 
liam Smyth, who has just been mentioned, came together from 
time to time in a certain chapel of St. John the Baptist, just 
outside of Leicester, near the house of the lepers, where others 
of their sect often met and had conventicles and exchanged 
opinions on their wicked ideas ; for it was a dwelling place and 
an inn for- such as came there, and there they had a debating 
place for evil doctrines and opinions and intercommunication 
of errors and heresies. A chapel which had once been devoted 
to God was now become a receiving place and establishment 
for enemies of the church of Christ and for heretics. 
Anecdote of These two, Richard the chaplain and William Smyth, became 
two Lollard j^^igry once upon a time for a dish of cabbage. And when 
they had obtained the cabbage they had no fire to cook it over, 
so one of them, looking around, in the corner of the chapel 
espied a certain old image, made and painted formerly in honor 
of St. Katherine, standing there; then he said, "Behold, my 
dear friend, God has already provided us with a fire to cook 
our cabbage in order that we may satisfy our hunger. This 
sacred image will certainly make us a holy fire, and thus by ax- 
and fire she will suffer new martyrdom, and through the cruelty 
of new torments she may be able at length to come to the 
kingdom of heaven." The belief of the Lollard sect is such 
that they hate images and work against them, preaching that 
they are idols and despising them as if likenesses of the gods. 
And when any one mentions St. Mary of Lincoln or St. Mary 



The First Half of tJie Hundred Years War 271 

of Walsyngham, they call them in our tongue "witch of Lin- 
coln " and "witch of Walsyngham." So one of them seized the 
ax, the other held the image, saying, " Let us find out whether 
she is truly holy ; for if when the head is struck blood gushes 
forth, forevermore let her be adored by us as holy ; but if no 
blood is drawn, she will make food for our fire in cooking our 
cabbage, by which our hunger will be appeased." Since they 
had lost their own sense of shame they were not able to con- 
ceal the thing, but, as if it were a joke, they told about this boast, 
but not with impunity ; for quickly after this they were cast out 
of their dwelling place. . . . 

Certain other Lollards were cited and came together at Ox- Recantation 
ford and other places when the archbishop had summoned them, °^ Wiiham 

1 ... . . ^ , , . . , Smyth 

and, renouncmg their superstitious errors and abjuring profane 
dogmas, they did public penance. William Smyth, concerning 
whom we have made frequent mention above, went through the 
market place at Leicester clad only in a linen garment, bearing 
in his right hand a cross with the image of the crucifix, in his 
left an image of St. Katherine, because he had formerly cut up 
the image of St. Katherine and burned it to cook some cab- 
bage for which he was hungry, as we have told fully above. 

The later Lollards were firmer in their faith, even 
when the punishment of burning at the stake had been 
introduced by law, as in the following case which oc- 
curred in 1 40 1. 

In this year was a parliament at London in the time of Lent, 157. The first 
where a blacksmith was accused of heresy. He held this con- burning 

for hcrcsv 
elusion, that the sacrament of the altar is not Christ's body, in England 

but a thing without soul, lower than a toad or a spider, both of 
which have life. And when he would not renounce his opinion 
he was given over to the secular arm, to be placed in a cask in 
Smithfield and to be burned. Prince Henry had pity on the 
man and counseled him to forsake his false opinion, but he 
would not. Wherefore he was put in the cask, and when the 
fire burned he cried horribly. The prince commanded to with- 
draw the fire, came to him, and made him great promises, but he 
would not yield. Wherefore he suffered him to be burnt to ashes. 



2/2 



Readings iji English History 



VII, The English Language and Literature 

The following statute, passed in the year 1362, indi- 
cates the position which the various languages in use in 
England had reached by that. time. It is the first legal 
requirement of the use of English. 



158. Law re- 
quiring the 
use of the 
English lan- 
guage in the 
law courts 
(1362) 



Because it is often showed to the king by the prelates, 
dukes, earls, barons, and all the commonalty, of the great mis- 
chiefs which have happened to divers persons of the realm, 
because the laws, customs, and statutes of this realm be not 
commonly known in the same realm, because they be pleaded, 
showed, and judged in the French tongue, which is much 
unknown in the said realm ; so that the people which do im- 
plead or be impleaded in the king's court and in the courts of 
others have no knowledge or understanding of that which is 
said for them or against them by their sergeants and other 
pleaders; and that reasonably the said laws and customs the 
rather shall be learned and known and better understood in 
the tongue used in the said realm, and by so much every man 
of the said realm may the better govern himself without offend- 
ing of the law, and the better keep, save, and defend his herit- 
age and possessions ; and in divers regions and countries 
where the king, the nobles, and others of the said realm have 
been, good governance and full right is done to every per- 
son, because their laws and customs be learned and used in the 
tongue of the country ; the king, desiring the good governance 
and tranquillity of his people, and to put out and eschew the 
harms and mischiefs which do or may happen in this behalf by 
the occasions aforesaid, hath ordained and established by the 
assent aforesaid that all pleas which shall be pleaded in any 
of his courts, before any of his justices whatsoever, or in his 
other places, or before any of his other ministers whatsoever, 
or in the courts and places of any other lords whatsoever within 
the realm, shall be pleaded, showed, defended, answered, de- 
bated, and judged in the English tongue, and that they be 
entered and enrolled in Latin. 



The First Half of the Htindred Years' War 273 

The following description of the condition of the lan- 
guage was written in English, here slightly modernized, 
by John of Trevisa, a Gloucestershire man, in 1385, just 
when French, as the usual language of the upper classes, 
was going out and English was coming in. 

Although Englishmen had from the very beginning three 159. The 

kinds of speech, — southern, northern, and middle speech (in Position of 

. French in 

the middle of the land), as they came from three kinds of peo- England 

pie of Germany, — nevertheless, by intermixture and mingling, 
first with Danes and afterwards with Normans, in many the 
native language is impaired and some use strange babbling, 
chattering, snarling and gnarling, and gritting the teeth. This 
impairing of the birth tongue is because of two things : one is, 
that children in school, against the usage and manner of all 
other nations, are compelled to leave their own language and 
to construe their lessons and their things in French, and have 
done so since the Normans came first into England. Also gen- 
tlemen's children are taught to speak French from the time 
they are rocked in their cradle and can speak and play with a 
child's brooch ; and countrymen wish to liken themselves to 
gentlemen and try with great diligence to speak French, in 
order to be more thought of. 

This custom was much used before the first plague, and is Before 1349 
since somewhat changed. For John Cornwall, a master of 
grammar, changed the teaching in grammar school, and the 
construing of French into English ; and Richard Pencrych 
, learned that manner of teaching from him, and other men 
from Pencrych ; so that now, the year of our Lord, a thousand 
three hundred fourscore and five, — of the second King Rich- 1385 
ard after the conquest ninth, — in all the grammar schools of 
England children leave French and construe and learn in 
English, and have thereby advantage on one side and dis- 
advantage on another. The advantage is, that they learn their 
grammar in less time than children were wont to do ; the dis- 
advantage is that now children of the grammar school know 
no more French than their left heel knows ; and that is harm 



274 Readings in English History 

for them, if they cross the sea and travel in foreign lands, 
and in many other cases too. Also, gentlemen have now 
largely ceased teaching their children P'rench. It seems a 
great wonder how English, that is the birth tongue of English- 
men and their own language and tongue, is so diverse of sound 
in this island, and the language of Normandy, a straHger from 
another land, hath one kind of sound among all men that 
speak it aright in England. Nevertheless, there are as many 
diverse kinds of French in the realm of France as there are 
diverse kinds of English in the realm of England. 

The first of the following selections from Chaucer is 
taken from the Prologue of the Canterbury Tales, and 
was written about 1 390 ; the second is from the dedi- 
cation to his son (then a boy of twelve years old and a 
student at Oxford) of his prose Treatise on the Astrolabe^ 
and was written in 1391. 

160. The A Clerk ther was of Oxenford also, 

'^i^'^^ °* That un-to logik hadde longe y-go. 

As lene was his hors as is a rake, 
And he nas nat right fat, I undertake ; 
But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly. 
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy ; 
For he had geten him yet no benefyce, 
Ne was so worldly for to have offyce. 
For him was lever have at his beddes heed 
Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed, 
Of Aristotle and his philosophye. 
Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye. 
But al be that he was a philosophre. 
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre ; 
But al that he mighte of his freendes hente, 
On bokes and on lerninge he it spente. 
And bisily gan for the soules preye 
Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye. 
Of studie took he most cure and most hede. 
Noght o word spak he more than was nede, 



TJie First Half of the Hundred Years' War 275 

And that was seyd in forme and reverence, 
And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence. 
Souninge in moral vertu was his speche, 
And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche. 

Litel Lowis my sone, I have perceived wel by certeyne evi- 161. A dedi- 

dences thyn abilite to lerne sciencez touchinge noumbres and ^^^t**"^ from 
, , ., ^,,. . Chaucer to 

proporciouns ; and as wel considere i thy bisy preyere in j^jg gQu 

special to lerne the Tretis of the Astrolabie. Than, for as 
mechel as a philosofre seith, " he wrappeth him in his frend, 
that condescendeth to the rightful preyers of his frend ;" ther- 
for have I geven thee a sufhsaunt Astrolabie as for oure ori- 
zonte, compowned after the latitude of Oxenford ; upon which, 
by mediacion of this litel tretis, I purpose to teche thee a 
certein nombre of conclusiouns apertening to the same instru- 
ment. . . . And Lowis, yif so be that I shewe thee in my 
lighte English as trewe conclusiouns touching this matere, and 
naught only as trewe but as many and as subtil conclusiouns 
as ben shewed in Latin in any commune tretis of the Astro- 
labie, you can me the more thank ; and preye God save the 
king, that is lord of this langage, and alle that him feyth bereth 
and obeyeth, everech in his degree, the more and the lasse. 
But considere wel, that I ne usurpe nat to have founde this 
werk of my labour or of myn engyn. I nam but a lewd com- 
pilatour of the labour of olde Astrologiens, and have hit trans- 
lated in myn English only for thy doctrine. 

The chronicler Froissart lived during most of his life 
in Burgundy or France, but in his old age he made one 
more visit to England, of which he gives the following 
account. He had known the Black Prince when living, 
and he now visited his tomb at Canterbury, seeing it much 
as we can still see it to-day. It is to be remembered that 
the language of this translation dates from a period more 
than a hundred years later. 

For these causes and other I had great desire to go into 
England to see the king and his uncles. Also I had this said 



2/6 Readings in English History 

162. Frois- fair book well covered with velvet, garnished with clasps of 

sart's ac- silver and gilt, thereof to make a present to the king at my 

visit to fi^'^t coming to his presence. I had such desire to go this 

England in voyage that the pain and travail grieved me nothing. Thus 

1395 provided of horses and other necessaries, I passed the sea at 

Calais, and came to Dover the twelfth day of the month of 

July. When I came there I found no man of my knowledge ; 

it was so long sith I had been in England, and the houses 

were all newly changed, and young children were become men, 

and the women knew me not, nor I them. 

So I abode half a day and all a night at Dover : it was on 
a Tuesday, and the next day by nine of the clock I came to 
Canterbury to St. Thomas' shrine, and to the tomb of the 
noble prince of Wales, who is there interred right richly. 
There I heard mass and made my offering to the holy saint, 
and then dined at my lodging ; and there I was informed how 
King Richard should be there the next day on pilgrimage, 
which was after his return out of Ireland, where he had been 
the space of nine months or thereabout. The king had a devo- 
tion to visit St. Thomas' shrine, and also because the prince, 
his father, was there buried. Then I thought to abide the king 
there, and so I did ; and the next day the king came thither 
with a noble company of lords, ladies, and damosels ; and when 
I was among them, they seemed to me all new folks \ I knew 
no person ; the time was sore changed in twenty-eight year, 
and with the king then was none of his uncles. The duke of 
Lancaster was in Aquitaine, and the dukes of York and Glou- 
cester were in other businesses, so that I was at the first all 
abashed, for if I had seen any ancient knight that had been 
with King Edward or with the prince, I had been well recom- 
forted and would have gone to him, but I could see none 
such. Then I demanded for a knight called Sir Richard Stury, 
— whether he were alive or not, — and it was shewed me, yes, 
but he was at London. 

Then I thought to go to the lord Thomas Percy, great senes- 
chal of England, who was there with the king ; so I acquainted 
me with him and I found him right honorable and gracious, 
and he offered to present me and my letters to the king. 



TJie First Half of the Himdred Years' W^ar 277 

whereof I was right joyful, for it behoved me to have some 
means to bring me to the presence of such a prince as the 
king of England was. He sent to the king's chamber, — at 
which time the king was gone to sleep, — and so he shewed me, 
and bade me return to my lodging and come again ; and so I 
did. And when I came to the bishop's palace I found the 
lord Thomas Percy ready to ride to Ospringe, and he coun- 
seled me to make, as then, no knowledge of my being there, 
but to follow the court ; and said he would cause me ever to 
be well lodged till the king should be at the fair castle of 
Leeds in Kent. 

I ordered me after his counsel, and rode before to Ospringe, 
and by adventure I was lodged in an house where was lodged 
a gentle knight of England, called Sir William Lisle. He was 
tarried there behind the king, because he had pain in his 
head all the night before. He was one of the king's privy 
chamber ; and when he saw that I was a stranger and, as he 
thought, of the marches of France, because of my language, 
we fell in acquaintance together ; for gentlemen of England 
are courteous, treatable, and glad of acquaintance. Then he 
demanded what I was and what business I had to do in those 
parts. I shewed him a great part of my coming thither, and 
all that the lord Thomas Percy had said to me and ordered 
me to do. He then answered, and said how I could not have a 
better mean, and that on the Friday the king should be at the 
castle of Leeds ; and he shewed me that when I came there I 
should find there the duke of York, the king's uncle, whereof 
I was right glad ; because I had letters directed to him, and 
also that in his youth he had seen me at the court of the noble 
king Edward, his father, and with the queen, his mother. 

The following is the form of solemn claim to the throne 
made by Henry of Lancaster when he had induced par- 
liament to declare Richard deposed. This account is taken 
from the records of parliament. 

And immediately, as it was evident from the circumstances 
set down above and their occasion that the kingship of England 



2/8 Readings in EnglisJi History 

163. Demand with its appurtenances was vacant, the aforesaid Henry of 

for the throne Lancaster rose from his place, and, standing erect, so that 

Henry of ^e might be well seen by the people, and protecting himself 

Lancaster humbly with the sign of the cross on his forehead and breast, 

(1399) after first calling on the name of Christ, claimed the aforesaid 

English realm, inasmuch as it was vacant, together with the 

crown and all its parts and appurtenances, in his mother tongue, 

in this form of words : 

" In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen, 
I, Henry of Lancaster, claim this realm of England with the 
crown and all things appertaining to it, as being descended 
by right line of blood from the good lord King Henry, and 
through that right that God of his grace hath sent me with 
help of my kin and of my friends to recover it ; the which 
realm was in point to be undone for default of governance and 
for violation of the laws." . . . 

After which the aforesaid archbishop, taking the said King 
Henry by his right hand, led him to the aforesaid royal throne. 
And after the said king on bended knees before the said throne 
had prayed for a short time, the said archbishop of Canter- 
bury, joining to himself the said archbishop of York, took the 
said king and caused him to sit on the aforesaid royal throne, 
while the people applauded vigorously with excessive joy. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK, 1399-1485 

I, The Growth of the Powers of Parliament 

The importance of parliament in the government has 
already been shown in the last selection of the preceding 
chapter. Its acquisition of its powers was rather a matter 
of slow growth than of definite conspicuous steps for- 
ward. Some stages in this growth, however, can be seen 
in the three following documents. The first is dated 1 348, 
and shows the claim of parliament to grant taxes to the 
king only under certain conditions, which the king must 
conform to. 

From henceforth no imposition, tallage, nor charge by loan, 164. A grant 
nor of any other sort whatsoever, shall be laid by the privy coun- °* taxes by 
cil of our lord the king without the grant and assent of parlia- certain con- 
men t ; and also two prelates, two lords, and two justices in this ditions 
present parliament shall be assigned to hear and examine all the 
petitions previously put forward in the last parliament by the 
Commons which have not yet been answered ; and with them 
the petitions now set forth, in the presence of four or six of the 
Commons chosen by them for this special purpose, so that the 
said petitions be answered reasonably in the present parliament, 
and of those which have previously been answered in full, that 
the answers be in force without change. . . . 

It is also provided that the said conditions be entered on An annual tax 
the roll of parliament as a matter of record, so that there can ^°^ *^'"^^ 
be remedy if anything to the contrary is attempted in time to 
come. Thus the said poor Commons, to their very great sac- 
rifice, grant to our lord the king three fifteenths, to be levied 

279 



165. Impeach- 
ment of 
Richard 
Lyons by the 
Good Par- 
liament 



Richard's 
defense 



280 Readings in English History 

for three years commencing at Michaelmas next coming; so 
that each of the three years one fifteenth and no more be 
levied, at two terms of the year, at Michaelmas and at Easter, 
in equal portions. The said aid shall be assigned and kept 
solely for the war of our lord the king and in no manner for 
the payment of former debts. 

The following record, dated 1376, gives a fuller ac- 
count of the first instance of impeachment of the king's 
ministers, which has already been referred to and which 
always afterward remained a right of parliament. 

Richard Lyons, merchant of London, was impeached and 
accused by the said Commons of many deceptions, extortions, 
and other crimes committed by him against the king our lord, 
and against his people, as well during the time when he was in 
attendance upon the household and council of the king as also 
during the time when he was farmer of the subsidies and cus- 
toms of the king ; because he has put and procured to be put 
upon the wool, woolfells, and other merchandises, certain new 
impositions without the assent of parliament, and he has levied 
and collected those impositions largely for his own use and for 
the use of those about the king, who are of the said covenant, 
without the oversight or witness of any comptroller, and with- 
out his being charged by record or otherwise except at his will, 
but he alone is sole treasurer and receiver. 

Various loans were also made for the use of the king with- 
out necessary cause ; and especially one loan of twenty thou- 
sand marks which was recently made in London, and this by 
the advice of the said Richard and other privy councilors 
about the king, who had agreed with the creditors to receive 
part of the profit and to be partners secretly in the said loan ; 
to which loan the said Richard furnished his own money and 
afterwards gained by way of usury from the king his lord, of 
whose council he had formerly been a member, a great quantity 
of money to the great damage and deception of the king. 

To which the said Richard, being present in parliament, 
replied, that as to the loan made to the king of the twenty 



The Houses of Lancaster and York 281 

thousand marks aforesaid, he was entirely free from blame. 
And further he said that he had gained thereof neither profit 
nor gain, nor did he furnish anything to the loan aforesaid, in 
money nor in anything else ; and this he was ready to prove 
by all the reasonable means that might be demanded. And as 
to the said imposition of ten shillings and twelvepence on the 
sack of wool, etc., and of fourpence on the pound of coin, he 
could not clearly excuse himself of having also levied and col- 
lected them and of taking thereof a portion, that is to say, 
twelvepence from each sack of wool, etc. But this he did, he 
said, at the express command of our lord the king, and at the 
prayer and with the consent of the merchants who asked for 
such licenses. And as to the residue of those impositions, he 
had caused them to be delivered entirely to the receiver of the 
chamber of the king and had' accounted therefor fully in the 
said chamber. And the said Richard was told that for it he 
ought to produce the warrant by which he had done the said 
things. But no warrant nor authorization was produced in 
parliament under the seal of the king nor otherwise, save 
only that he said that he had commandment therefor from the 
king himself and from his council to do it. And upon this, 
testimony was given openly in parliament, that our lord the 
king had said expressly the day before to certain lords here 
present in parliament that he did not know how or in what 
manner he had conferred such an office upon him ; and further- 
more, he did not recognize him as his officer. And as to the 
other articles the said Richard made no answer ; but he said 
that if he had committed offense or done wrong in any wise, he 
placed himself at the mercy of the king our lord. 

Thereupon the said Richard was ordered to prison during Punishment 
the king's pleasure ; and to be put to fine and ransom, accord- 
ing to the amount and heinousness of his offense, and that he 
lose his liberty of the city of London, and that he never hold 
office of the king nor enter the council or the palace of the king. 

The following extract from the records of parliament 
gives testimony to the resentment of the House of 
Commons against the recent arrest of one of their 



282 



Readings iji English History 



i66. Repeal 
of condem- 
nation of 
Thomas 
Haxey (1399) 



Acknowledg- 
ment of the 
right of free 
speech by the 
Commons 



members for introducing a bill obnoxious to the king ; 
and also to their success in forcing the new king to 
reverse the judgment against Haxey and to acknowledge 
their privileges for the future. 

Item, as at the parliament held at Westminster on the day 
of St. Vincent, in the twentieth year of King Richard, for the 
honor and profit of the said king and all the realm, Thomas 
Haxey, clerk, presented a bill to the Commons of the said par- 
liament ; for which bill, by the wish of the said king, the said 
Thomas was adjudged a traitor, and forfeited all that he had, 
contrary to the right and custom which had been used before 
in parliament, in destruction of the customs of the Commons : 
may it please our very gracious lord the king in this present 
parliament to amend that judgment and make it void, as erro- 
neous ; and to reinstate the said Thomas fully in his rank, 
estate, goods and chattels, terms, annuities, pensions, lands, 
tenements, rents, offices, advowsons, and possessions whatso- 
ever with their appurtenances, and that he be able to enter 
upon the aforesaid terms, annuities, lands, tenements, rents, 
ofifices, advowsons, and possessions, or any of them, grants to 
any person made in any way since the said judgment not- 
withstanding ; as well in fulfillment of the right as for the 
saving of the liberties of the said Commons. 

The king wills, by the advice and consent of all the lords, 
spiritual and temporal, that the judgment rendered against 
Thomas Haxey, clerk, in the parliament held at Westminster 
in the twentieth year of the late King Richard, be wholly 
annulled, reversed, repealed and made void, and held of no 
force or efifect ; and that the said Thomas be reinstated in 
his name and reputation, and made and held an able person, 
such as he was before the said judgment was rendered, as in 
the record made thereof and enrolled before in this roll of 
parliament appears more at length. 



The Houses of Lancaster and York 283 

II. The Rising of Owen Glendower and the Renewal 
OF THE French War 

The panic caused by the raids of Owen Glendower 
and the general rising of the native Welsh in his support 
are reflected in the following extracts from letters of one 
of the king's officers on the Welsh border. 

There are come into our county more than four hundred 167. A letter 
of the rebels of Owen, and they have captured and robbed from Wales 
within your county of Hereford many men and beasts in great Henry IV 
number, as Miles Walter, the bearer of these presents, will more (1403) 
fully tell you by mouth than I can write to you at present, to 
whom may it please you to give your faith and credence in 
that on which he shall inform you, for the preservation of your 
said county and of all the country around. . . . 

From day to day letters are arriving from Wales by which 
you may learn that the whole country is lost, unless you go 
there as quick as possible. Be pleased to set forth with all 
your power and march by night as well as by day, for the 
salvation of those parts. It will be a great disgrace as well as 
damage to lose in the beginning of your reign a country which 
your ancestors gained and retained so long ; for people speak 
very unfavorably. 

The turning of the tide in favor of the government 
is shown by the succeeding letter from Prince Henry, 
afterwards Henry V, then a young man of eighteen. 

My most redoubted and most sovereign lord and father, I 168. Prince 
sincerely pray that God will graciously show his miraculous ^?°^ 
aid towards you in all places, praised be he in all his works, ly (1405) 
for on W^ednesday, the eleventh of this present month of 
March, your rebels of the parts of Glamorgan, Morgannok, 
Usk, Netherwent, and Overwent assembled to the number of 
eight thousand men, according to their own account, and they 
went on the same Wednesday, in the morning, and burnt 
a part of your town of Grossmont within your lordship of 



284 Readings in English History 

Monmouth and Jennoia. Presently went out my well-beloved 
cousin the Lord Talbot and the small body of my household, 
and with them joined your faithful and valiant knights, Wil- 
liam Newport and John Greindor, the which formed but small 
power in the whole ; but true it is indeed that victory is not 
in the multitude of people, but in the power of God, and this 
was well proved there. For there by the aid of the blessed 
Trinity your people gained the field, and vanquished all the 
said rebels, and slew of them in field by fair account, by the 
time of their return from the pursuit, some, being questioned 
upon pain of death, say eight hundred, others a thousand. 
Nevertheless, whether it were one or the other I will not con- 
tend, and to inform you fully of all that has been done, I send 
you a person worthy of credit therein, my faithful serA'ant, the 
bearer of this letter, who was at the engagement and per- 
formed his duty well, as he has always done. And such amends 
has God ordained you for the burning of your houses in the 
aforesaid town ;.and of prisoners were none taken except one, 
a great chieftain among them, whom I would have sent to 
you, but he cannot yet ride at ease. 

Written at Hereford the said Wednesday at night. 

Your most humble and obedient son, 

Henry. 

It is very doubtful whether Henry V was sincere in 
his peaceful embassy to the king of France, described 
below by 'a French chronicler. At any rate, it was 
followed up quickly by warlike acts, and in a short 
time the interrupted war was resumed with vigor. 

169. Extract On the eighth day of August the king of England sent a 

from the notable embassy to Paris with offers of peace and alliance, 

of Juvenal ^^'^^ '^ ^^ ^^Y' the bishop of Durham and the bishop of Nor- 

des Ursins wich, two well-known prelates, the earl of Salisbury, Lord de 

(1414) Gray, Messire Jean Pheletin, and others, and they had five 

hundred horses pompously arrayed and well ordered, which 

came to Paris. But because the king and dauphin were not 

there they addressed themselves to Monseigneur the due de 



TJie Houses of Lancaster and York 285 

Berry, who received them as lavishly and honorably as he knew 
how, and entertained them many times. They wished to be 
heard, a thing which the due de Berry granted, and they were 
heard. The said bishop of Norwich, who was a very notable 
clerk, made a proposal, the substance of which was, " Do us 
justice ; we offer peace and alliance." For alliance they de- 
manded Madame Catherine of France, the duchy of Guienne, 
the county of Ponthieu, without returning faith or homage ; 
these together with other demands. . . . 

When the return of the king came to the knowledge of the Conditions of 
English they returned to Paris, in order to have a reply to the "tf^^^ i^'the 
offer which they had made of having Madame Catherine for English 
their king, and demanding Guienne and Ponthieu, and, in 
a word, of having the treaty of Bretigny kept. And the same 
bishops who had made the proposition in the first place re- 
peated it, saying that their lord and sovereign master would 
be much rejoiced if he might know that the good will which 
the king of France and his parents had preserved had become 
a firm peace. . . . 

The king of England, not content with having sent ambassa- 
dors to the king, himself wrote twice very graciously, that he 
wished to do him justice. And to this he added soothing and 
gentle words, in order to strengthen the peace, concord, and 
unity, hoped for from the offers made by the ambassadors. 
When the king and his council saw the smooth manner of 
speech used in the letters, they concluded to send to him a 
notable embassy, since they well knew the preparations which 
were being made to descend upon France. They sent the arch- 
bishop of Bourges, surnamed Bourretier, a very noted man and 
good clerk who used fine language ; together with him were to 
go the bishop of Lisieux, the count de Vendome, the baron 
dTvry, and others. . . . 

Soon after, news came that they were about to descend on 
Harfleur ; the king of England was present in person, accom- 
panied by his brothers and other princes of England, six thou- 
sand men of arms, thirty to forty thousand archers, and other 
people without number, with artillery, bombards, cannon, and 
people trained in arms. 



286 



Readings in English History 



170. A speech 
of Henry V 



171. Extract 
from John 
Capgrave's 
chronicle 



The following is a contemporary account of the well- 
known words of Henry V before the battle of Agincourt, 
which Shakespeare introduces into the play of Hefiry V. 

Amongst other speeches which I noticed was this : a certain 
Sir Walter Hungerford, knight, was regretting in the king's 
presence that he had not, in addition to the small retinue 
which he had there, ten thousand of the best English archers, 
who would be desirous of being with him. Then the king said : 
" Thou speakest foolishly, for by the God of heaven, on whose 
grace I have relied, and in whom I have a firm hope of vic- 
tory, I would not, even if I could, increase my number by one, 
for those whom I have are the people of God, whom he thinks 
me worthy to have at this time. . . . Dost thou not believe 
the Almighty with these his humble few is able to conquer 
the haughty opposition of the French, who pride themselves 
on their numbers and their own strength?" 

The following account of the battle of Agincourt is 
given by John Capgrave, one of the first chroniclers who 
wrote in English after the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

The Kyng, aftir this conquest, purposed to go to Caleys, 
with foot-men for the most part. For al his boost was not 
acoundid passing eight thousand ; so many were left seek at 
Harflew. Merveile it was that he with so fewe durst go thorw 
alle the thik wodis in that cuntre. For the Frensch parti in al 
this tyme had mad an boost of an hundred thousand and forty 
thousand. Vitailes were kept fro hem, that eighteen dayes 
thei had walnotes for bred ; and flech had thei sum : but her 
drynk was watir. 

So in the 23rd day of Octobir the hostis met not a myle 
asundir. The Kyng coumforted gretly his men, that thei schuld 
trost in God, for her cause was rithful. The Frensch part 
stod on the hille, and we in the vale. Betwix hem was a lond 
new heried, where was evel fotying. Schort for to sey, the feld 
fel onto the Kyng, and the Frensch party lost it, for al her 
noumbyr and her pride. Ther were ded the duke of Lauson, the 



The Houses of Lancaster and York 287 

duke of Braban, the duke of Baver, five erles, the Constable eke 
of Frauns, and a hundred lordes ; knytes and swiris, four thou- 
sand sexti and nine : the comon puple was not noumbered. 

The most prominent characteristics of the Treaty of 
Troyes are the fact that it does not name the French 
king's son Charles, but puts Henry V in his place ; and 
that it provides for the present administration of France 
by the English king and the eventual union of the two 
kingdoms. 

First that by the alliance of marriage made for the good of 172. Extracts 
the said peace between our said son King Henry and our ^f"'" ^^^ 
dearest and most beloved daughter Katherine, he has become xroyes 
our son and that of our very dear and best beloved com- (1420) 
panion, the queen. . . . 

Item, that after our death and afterwards the crown and Henry to be 
the kingdom of France, together with its rights and appurte- ^^''' 
nances, shall be vested and remain perpetually in our son King 
Henry and his heirs. . . . 

Item, that inasmuch as we are held and hindered for the Henry to be 
present, on account of health, from hearing and arranging the '''^8^"^ 
affairs of the kingdom, the faculty and exercise of governing 
and ordering the public affairs of the said kingdom shall be 
vested, and remain during our life, in our said son King Henry, 
with the consent of the nobles and wise men obedient to us, 
who have at heart the advantage and honor of the said king- 
dom ; and he shall be able to rule and govern by himself 
and by others whom he wishes to appoint, with the consent 
of the nobles and said wise men. . . . 

Item, that during our life our said son King Henry will not 
call or subscribe himself, or cause himself to be named or 
written, as king of France, and will abstain utterly from this 
said name so long as we remain alive. . . . 

Item, it is allowed that during our life we shall call, name, 
and write our said son, King Henry, in the French language 
in this manner : "Our dear son Henry, king of England, heir of 
France." . . . 



288 



Readings in English History 



The two 
countries to 
be joined 
under the 
same king 



Item, . . . the two crowns of France and England shall 
remain perpetually united, and shall be vested in one person, 
that is to say, in the person of our said son King Henry as 
long as he shall live, and after his death in the persons of his 
heirs who shall reign successively one after the other. 

Item, that now and forever all dissension, hatred, rancor, 
enmity, and war between the said kingdoms of France and 
England shall be allayed, suppressed, and stopped entirely, and 
that the people of these two kingdoms shall adhere to this 
said peace ; and between the two said kingdoms there shall be 
agreement, now and forever, in the future to maintain peace, 
tranquillity, unity, and mutual affection, together with a strong 
and stable friendship ; and that these two said kingdoms will 
help those who help them, and give mutual aid and assistance 
against all persons who bring violence, injury, grief, or loss to 
them, or to one of them ; and that they talk matters over and 
contract freely and securely the one with the other in paying 
the customs and accustomed duties. 

The dying instructions of Henry V are recorded by 
the chronicler Thomas of Elmham. 

173. Arrange- Three days before his death, having summoned into his 
ments of prei^ence the dukes of Bedford and Exeter and other nobles 
the govern- ^^ ^is household, he spoke* tranquilly to them as follows : " It 
ment of is certain," he said, " that I cannot escape death, which is 

^rfnrf*^ ^^^ already near at hand. If, therefore, during my reign I have 
ruled otherwise than I ought, or have done any one injustice, 
of which I believe the contrary, as a suppliant I pray for par- 
don. For your good services, especially in these wars, I give 
thanks to you and to all your fellow-soldiers ; for which, if 
death had not prevented me, I intended to reward each ac- 
cording to his deserts. I command you to continue the wars 
until peace is made, to which wars, I declare before God, I 
was dra\\Ti neither by ambitious lust for power, nor by vain- 
glory, nor by worldly honor, nor by any other such cause, but 
solely that by pursuing my just claim I might obtain at once 
peace and right. To my brother, the duke of Bedford, I 
decree that the custody and government of the duchy of 



France 



The Houses of Lattcaster a7id York 289 

Normandy shall be committed until my son reaches years of dis- 
cretion. The protector and defender of England shall be my 
brother, the duke of Gloucester. My uncle, the duke of Exeter, 
my chamberlain, and Hungerford, steward of my household, I 
wish and desire to be in attendance on the person of my son. 



III. Joan of Arc and the Close of the Hundred 
Years' War 

The career of Joan of Arc is one of perennial interest 
as well as historical importance. The account of her 
first exploits here given is from a contemporary French 
chronicler. 

In the course of this year, a young girl called Joan, about 174- Extracts 
twenty years old, and dressed like a man, came to Charles, x°"g'^°°' 
king of France, at Chinon. She was born in the town of chronicle 
Domremy, on the borders of Burgundy and Lorraine, not far (1429) 
from Vaucouleurs, and had been for some time hostler and 
chambermaid at an inn, and had shown much courage in rid- 
ing horses to water, and in other feats unusual for young girls 
to do. She was instructed how to act, and sent to the king 
by Sir Robert de Baudricourt, knight, governor of Vaucouleurs, 
who supplied her with horses and from four to six men as an 
escort. She called herself a maiden inspired by the divine _ 
grace, and said that she was sent to restore King Charles to 
his kingdom, whence he had been unjustly driven and which 
was now reduced to so deplorable a state. 

She remained about two months in the king's court, fre- 
quently urging him to give her men and support, so that she 
might repulse his enemies and exalt his name. The king and 
council, in the meantime, knew not how to act ; for they put 
no great faith in what she said, considering her as one out 
of her senses; for to such noble persons the expressions she 
used are dangerous to be believed, as well for fear of the anger 
of the Lord, as for the blasphemous discourses which they may 
occasion in the world. After some time, however, she was 
promised men-at-arms and support ; a standard was also given 



290 Readings in English History 

her, on which she caused to be painted a representation of our 
Creator. All her conversation was of God, on which account 
great numbers of those who heard her had great faith in what 
she said, and believed her inspired, as she declared herself to be. 
She was many times examined by learned clerks, and other 
prudent persons of rank, to iind out her real intentions ; but 
she kept to her purpose, and always replied, that if the king 
would believe her, she would restore to him his kingdom. In 
the meantime she did several acts which shall be hereafter 
related that gained her great renown. When she came first 
to the king, the duke d'Alengon, the king's marshal, and other 
captains were with him, for he had held a grand council rela- 
tive to the siege of Orleans. From Chinon the king went to 
Poitiers, accompanied by the Maid. 

Shortly after, the marshal was ordered to convey provisions 
and stores, under a strong escort, to the army within Orleans. 
Joan asked to accompany him, and that armor should be given 
her, which was done. She then displayed her standard and 
went to Blois, where the escort was to assemble, and thence 
to Orleans, always dressed in complete armor. On this expe- 
dition many warriors served under her ; and when she arrived 
at Orleans great feasts were made for her, and the garrison 
and townsmen were delighted at her coming among them. . . . 
The siege of The English captains had continued their siege of Orleans 
Orleans about seven months, and had much straitened it by their bat- 
teries and towers, of which they had erected not less than 
sixty. The besieged, sensible of the peril they were in of being 
conquered, resolved to defend themselves to the last, and sent 
to King Charles for reenforcements of men and a supply of 
stores and provisions. From four to five hundred combatants 
were first sent ; but they were followed by seven thousand more, 
who escorted a convoy of provisions up the river Loire. With 
these last came Joan the Maid, who had already done some acts 
that had increased her reputation. The English attempted to 
cut off this convoy ; but it was well defended by the Maid and 
those with her, and brought with safety to Orleans, to the great 
joy of the inhabitants, who made good cheer, and were rejoiced 
at its safe arrival and the coming of the Maid. 



TJie Houses of Lancaster and York 2gi 

On the morrow, which was a Thursday, Joan rose early, and The begin- 
addressing herself to some of the principal captains, prevailed "'"S of sue- 
on them to arm and follow her, — for she wished, as she said, French 
to attack the enemy, being fully assured they would be van- 
quished. These captains and other warriors, surprised at her 
words, were induced to arm and make an assault on the tower 
of St. Loup, which was very strong and garrisoned with from 
three to four hundred English. They were, notwithstanding 
the strength of the blockhouse, soon defeated, and all killed 
or made prisoners, and the fortification was set on fire and de- 
molished. The Maid, having accomplished her purpose, re- 
turned with the nobles and knights who had followed her 
to the town of Orleans, where she was greatly feasted and 
honored by all ranks. The ensuing day she again made a sally, 
with a certain number of combatants, to attack another of the 
English forts, which was as well garrisoned as the former one, 
but which was, in like manner, destroyed by fire, and those 
within put to the sword. On her return to the town after this 
second exploit she was more honored and respected than ever. 

On the next day, Saturday, she ordered the tower at the 
end of the bridge to be attacked. This was strongly fortified, 
and had within it the flower of the English chivalry and men- 
at-arms, who defended themselves for a long time with the 
utmost courage ; but it availed them nothing, for by dint of 
prowess they were overcome, and the greater part put to the 
sword. On this occasion were slain a valiant English captain 
named Classendale, the lord Molins, the bailiff of Evreux, and 
many more warriors of great and noble estate. 

The Maid, after this victory, returned to Orleans with the 
nobles who had accompanied her, and with but little loss of 
men. Notwithstanding that at these attacks Joan was, accord- 
ing to common fame, supposed to have been the leader, she 
had with her all the most expert and gallant captains, who, for 
the most part, daily served at this siege of Orleans, mention of 
whom has been before made. Each of these three captains 
exerted himself manfully at these attacks, so that from six to 
eight thousand combatants were killed or taken, while the 
French did not lose more than one hundred men of all ranks. 



292 Readings in English History 

The relief The eiisuing Sunday, the English captains, namely, the earl 

of Orleans Qf Suffolk, Lord Talbot, Lord Scales, and others, seeing the de- 
struction of their forts and the defeat of their men, resolved, 
after some deliberation, to form the remains of their army into 
one body, march out of their camp, and wait, prepared for an 
engagement, should the enemy be willing to offer them battle ; 
otherwise, they would march away in good order to such towns 
as were under their obedience. This resolution they instantly 
executed on Sunday morning, when they abandoned their 
forts, setting fire to several, and drew up in battle array, ex- 
pecting the French would come to fight them ; but they had 
no such intentions, having been exhorted to the contrary by 
Joan the Maid. The EngUsh, having waited a considerable 
time for them in vain, marched away, lest their forces might 
be further diminished without prospect of success. 

At the time Joan appeared before Orleans she dic- 
tated the follow^ing striking letter to a clerk and had it 
sent to the English commanders. 

175. A letter (Jesus, Mary.) King of England, and you, duke of Bedford, 
from Joan ^yi^Q (.^H yourselves regent of the realm of France, you Wil- 
liam de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, John, Lord Talbot, and you 
Thomas, Lord Scales, who call yourselves lieutenants of the 
said duke of Bedford : Do right to the King of heaven, de- 
liver to the Maid, who is sent here by God, the King of heaven, 
the keys of all the good towns which you have taken and de- 
stroyed in France. She is come hither from God to restore 
the royal blood. She is ready to make peace if you are willing 
to do right to her, and on condition that you will quit France 
and pay back that which you have taken there. And you, 
archers, comrades of war, gentlemen and others who are before 
the city of Orleans, go away to your own country, in God's 
name ; and if you do not thus, await tidings of the Maid, who 
will, ere long, come to see you to your very great hurt. 

King of England, if you do not thus. Lam the chief of the 
war, and in whatever place I shall find your men in France, I 
shall drive them out, whether they will or no ; and if they will 
not obey, I will have them all slain. 



The Houses of LcDicaster and York 293 

I am sent here by God, the King of heaven, body for body, 
to drive you out of all France. And all who are willing to go 
I will receive to mercy. And do not have confidence in God, 
the King of heaven, son of the blessed Mary \ for you shall 
not have the realm of France ; but God, the King of heaven, 
wills that King Charles, the true heir, shall have it, and the 
Maid has revealed this to him. He shall enter Paris with a 
good company. If you will not believe the news that the Maid 
brings from God, in whatsoever place we find you we will 
attack you, and will make a greater slaughter than there has 
been in France in a thousand years, if you will not do right. 
And believe that the King of heaven will send more strength 
to the Maid than you can bring in all your assaults against 
her and her good soldiers. And it shall be clearly seen who 
has the best right from the King of heaven. You, duke of 
Bedford, the Maid begs and requires you that you will not let 
yourself be destroyed. If you do right to her, you will be able 
to come into her company, wherein the P'rench will do the best 
deed that ever was done for Christianity. And make answer, 
if you are willing to make peace in the city of Orleans ; and 
if you do not do it, you will learn of it right soon to your very 
great loss. Written this Tuesday in Holy Week. 

At her trial Joan was subjected to an examination 
lasting through more than a month, in which every de- 
tail of her life and actions was inquired into. Fortu- 
nately the report of this trial is still preserved, and no 
better testimony to her pure, childlike, devoted character 
is needed than her replies, a few of which are given here. 

Asked concerning the place of her origin, she replied that 176. Testi- 
she was born in the village of Domremy. mony of 

Asked concerning the name of her parents, she replied that concerning*^ 
her father was called Jacques d'Arc, her mother Isabella. herself 

Asked where she was baptized, she replied in the church of 
Domremy. . . . 

Asked how old she is, she replied that so far as she knows 
she is about nineteen. . . . 



294 Readings in English History 

She confessed that when she was thirteen years of age she 
" had a voice from God, to aid her in how to act. And the first 
time she had great fear. The voice came about noontime, 
in summer, in her father's garden ; and the said Joan had 
been fasting the previous day. She heard the voice on the 
right hand in the direction of the church, and she seldom heard 
it without there being a light. The light came from the same 
direction the voice was heard from, and usually it was a very 
great light. And when the same Joan came into France she 
often heard that voice. . . . 

She said that when she was in the woods she heard a voice 
coming toward her. She said, moreover, that it seemed to her 
to be a good voice, and she believed that the voice was sent 
from God ; and after she heard the voice three times she 
knew that it was the voice of an angel. She said, besides, that 
that voice always kept her safe, and that she understood the 
voice very well. 
Her voice Asked what proof she had that that voice was for the good 
requires her ^f j^gj. goul, she said that it taught her to act rightly, to attend 

to go from , , , . 1 , T 1 • t 

Burgundy church, and said to the same Joan that it was necessary tor 
into France her to go into France. She confessed that that voice said to 
her twice or three times in a week that the same Joan must 
go into France, and she said that her father knew nothing of 
her departure. Moreover, the voice told her that she should 
raise a siege laid against the city of Orleans. She said that 
the voice said to her farther that the same Joan should go to 
Robert de Baudricourt, at the city of Vaucouleurs, captain of 
that place, and he would give her men to go with her ; and 
the said Joan then replied that she was a poor girl, who did 
not know how to ride, nor to carry on war. . . . 

She said, likewise, that when she entered the chamber of 
the king, she recognized him among others, by the counsel of 
her voice revealing this to her ; and she said to the §ame king 
that she wished to go to make war against the English. , . . 

Asked whether she knew that she was in the grace of God, she 
replied, " If I am not, God will place me there ; and if I am, God 
will hold me in it ; I should be the most sorrowful person in the 
whole world if I did not know myself to be in the grace of God." 



The Houses of Lancaster and York 295 

Likewise she was asked about a certain tree near her vil- 
lage. To this she replied, that quite near her village of Dom- 
remy, there is a certain tree called the " Tree of the Ladies," 
and others call it the "Tree of the Fairies," and alongside of 
it is a spring. . . . Also she said that sometimes she went for 
a walk to it with the other girls, and made at the tree wreaths 
for the image of the Blessed Mary of Domremy. And she has 
often heard from old people that there are fairies there, but 
she said that she had never seen the fairies there. And she 
said that after she learned that she must go into France, she 
took very little part in the plays or walks. . . . 

Asked whether it was the voice of an angel which spoke to 
her, or of a man or a woman saint, or of God directly, she re- 
plied that that voice was of St. Catherine and of St. Margaret, 
and that their forms were crowned with beautiful crowns, very 
rich and precious. 

Asked what was the first voice that came to her when she 
was thirteen years old, she said that it was St. Michael. 

Asked whether she saw St. Michael and the angels bodily, 
she replied, " I saw them with my bodily eyes, as well as I see 
you, and when they left me I cried and would have liked them 
to take me away with them." 

Asked whether when she went to Orleans she had a banner, 
and of what color it was, she replied that she had a banner of 
which the field was sowed with lilies, and there was on it the 
figure of the world and two angels at the side. It was of white 
color made of linen, and the words "Jesus, Mary " were written 
on it, and it was embroidered with silk. 

Asked which she liked best, her banner or her sword, she 
replied that she liked much better, yes, forty times better, her 
banner than her sword. She said, moreover, that she herself 
carried the banner when she attacked the enemy, so that she 
would not have to kill any one, and she said she had never 
killed a man, so far as she knew. 

After a long series of campaigns, expeditions, sieges, 
and attempted agreements, the English were finally driven 
out of Normandy, and somewhat later out of the southern 



296 Readings in English History 

provinces, and a French chronicler thus describes the 
close of the English invasion of France. 

177. The final Thus by the grace and help of God was reduced to obedi- 
expulsion of gj^(>g ^.q ^j^g j^jj-jg Qf prance the duchy of Aquitaine, very soon 
the English . , , .^ j j • 1 n i 1 ri- 

after that of Normandy, and, in general, all the realm of l' ranee, 

except the city of Calais, which still remains in the hands of 
the English. May God grant that all shall soon be returned, 
and then shall be accomplished the scripture, which says, 
" Better is obedience than sacrifice." 



IV. The Wars of the Roses 

Much of the misery and tumult of the civil war known 
as the Wars of the Roses was, no doubt, due to the fact 
that the king was not strong enough or harsh enough to 
force the great nobles to behave themselves. The piety, 
simplicity, and kindliness of Henry VI, as described by 
Blakman, would have been most estimable in a private 
man but were unsuitable to a king, at that time. 

178. A con- He was like another Job — a simple, upright man, fearing 

temporary ^he Lord God above all, and avoiding evil. He never used 
of Henry VI ^'^y *-"^^ deceitfully, nor spoke falsely to any man. He would 
never wittingly do any man harm. In church or oratory he 
never indulged himself by sitting on a seat, or by walking to 
and fro, as is the manner of worldly men during divine service, 
but always with his head bare, and his royal limbs seldom erect, 
but continually making genuflexions before the book, with eyes 
and hands raised he sought inwardly to repeat the prayers, 
epistles, and gospels of the mass with the celebrant. Also he 
would allow no one to enter the church with swords or spears, 
or to converse there. 

Concerning his humility in his gait, raiment, and demeanor, 
he was wont from a youth to wear broad shoes and boots like 
a farmer. Also his cloak was long, with a round hood such as 



The Houses of Lancaster and York 297 

a burgess wears, and his tunic reached below his knees, all 
dove colored, and he avoided anything fanciful. 

Once when he was coming through Cripplegate, seeing the 
quarter of a man set over the gate there, he asked what it 
might be. And his lords told him that it was the quarter of a 
traitor who had been false to the king's Majesty. The king 
said : " Take it away. I will not that any Christian man be so 
cruelly used for me." Also four noble gentlemen convicted of 
treason, and lawfully condemned therefor, he piously released, 
giving them charter of pardon for their speedy liberation. 

The following extracts from a chronicle, written in 
English, show how many of the battles of the Wars of 
the Roses occurred. King Henry VI, who was at this 
time under the influence of the queen and the nobles of 
her party, was traveling toward the north of England. 
The earl of Salisbury and the duke of York, with an 
army which they professed was simply for their protec- 
tion against the Lancastrian nobles, were coming to ap- 
peal to the king. The nobles about the king and queen 
with their troops opposed them, and the battle of Blore 
Heath occurred as described here. The king's troops 
were defeated and he came for the moment under the 
influence of the Yorkists. 

The thirty eighth yere of kyng Harry, in the moneth of 179. The 

Septembre, in yere of our Lord 14s 9 on the Sonday in the ^^tti^ of 
c r r. ivT , T.- , 1 1 i- o 1- 1. , Blore Heath 

feste of Seynt Mathew, Richard erle of Salisbury, havyng (1459) 

with hym seven thousand of wele arayed men, dredyng the 

malyces of his enemyes and specially of the queue and hyre 

company the whiche hated hym dedly and the duk of York 

and the erle of Warrewyk also, tooke hys wey towarde Ludlow 

where the sayde duk of York lay at that tyme, to thentent that 

bothe togedre wolde have ryde to the kyng to Colshylle in 

Staffordshyre, for to have excused theym of certeyne articles 

and fals accusaciones touchyng thaire ligeaunce layde agayns 

theyme maliciously by their enemyes. 



298 Readings in English History 

Whenne the kyng herde of thayre commyng, they that were 
aboute hym counseyled hym to gadre a power for to wythe- 
stand theym, and enformed hym that they came for to dystroy 
hymme. Thenne lay the quene at Eglishale, and anone by 
hire stiryng the kyng assembled a grete power whereof the 
Lorde Audeley was chyef and had the ledyng of thaym, and 
wente forthe in to the felde called Blorehethe ; by the whyche 
the sayde duk of York and the erl most nedes passe. And 
there bothe hostes mette and countred to gedre, and faught 
mortally. And there was the Lorde Audeley sleyne, and meny 
of the notable knyghtes and squyers of Chesshyre that had 
resceved the lyvery of the swannes ; and there were take prys- 
oners, the erlles two sones of Salisbury, Thomas and Johan, 
and Sir Thomas Haryngtone, and enprysoned in the castelle 
of Chestre ; but sone after they were delyvered. 

Two years after the events just described, the king 
being in the possession of the Yorkists, the second battle 
of St. Albans was fought. It went against the Yorkists, 
and the poor imbecile king fell into the hands of his wife 
and other friends. The cruel execution of captured op- 
ponents was characteristic of the times, but the harsh 
sentence put into the mouth of the ten-year-old prince 
by his mother, according to the following contemporary 
account, was extreme even then, and was believed at the 
time to be avenged when he was himself murdered after 
the battle of Tewkesbury, fought the next year. 

180. The When the earl of Warwick perceived that things were going 

second battle m j^g bethought him to seek the king, but he could not for 
of St. Albans , ' , f ^ . . 1 , , , • 

the people who were fleemg. And thus the kmg was taken 

under a great oak, where he was laughing greatly at what had 

occurred, and he begged those who came to him that they 

should do no hurt to the person of Monsieur Kyriel, which they 

promised ; but Lovelace, the disloyal traitor, led the king. Sir 

Thomas, and his son to the queen, who was right glad to meet 

the king. Then she spoke to Sir Thomas Kyriel and his son, 



The Houses of Lancaster ajid York 299 

and called them traitors several times, to which the good knight 
replied : " Greatly redoubted lady, never have I thought nor 
done treason, neither has any ill reproach touched me ; it 
would grieve me much if in my old age I were so reputed." 
At these words the queen looked at him very haughtily, and 
swearing by her allegiance to the king that she would be re- 
venged, she called her son, the prince of Wales, and asked him, 
" Fair son, by what manner of death shall these knights die ? " 
And the young prince answered that their heads should be 
chopped off. Whereat answered Sir Thomas, saying, " May Execution of 
God punish whomsoever taught thee to speak thus." And Yorkist lords 
shortly afterwards their heads were cut off, which was great pity. 



V. The Reigns of Edward IV and Richard III 

Notwithstanding the unfavorable results of this battle, 
the duke of York pressed on to London, which was then 
being besieged by the Lancastrians, entered it, and laid 
claim to the throne, as described by John Whethamstede. 
His coronation soon followed. 

When these words had been spoken, surrounded by a great 181. Seizure 
number of people, Edward, duke of York, mounted his horse, °* the throne 
and taking his way towards London, came there under lucky /^gi)^^'^ 
circumstances and without any hindrance on the eighth day 
after the battle of St. Albans. Arriving there and entering the 
city freely and without pay, he was received by all, as well by 
the mayor as by the aldermen, as well by the clergy as by every 
workman of the city. With the greatest rejoicings and delight 
he was led to the palace of the bishop, in which he delayed 
for several days. Daily he consulted and planned with the 
prelates in person, the nobility, and other solid and intelligent 
men what he himself should do to be more useful in carrying 
out their plans after they had been adopted. After the con- 
clusion of this he hastened, on the fourth day of the month of 
March, to the royal palace of Westminster, and entering, ad- 
vanced to the throne of the king erected there at the time of 



The duke of 
York takes 
possession of 
Westminster 
Palace 



He seats him- 
self on the 
throne in 
Westminster 
Abbey 



182. The in- 
vention of 
benevolences 
(1473) 



300 Readings in English History 

the parliament. Summoning an assembly there, he declared 
before all the people in a very fluent speech, the claim vested 
in his own person, his birth, his title, as well as his right to the 
name and government of the kingdom. After assuming it for 
himself in the two ways, as well in the name of king as in the 
command of the kingdom, he hastened on to the church of the 
monks, where he was received by the abbot and the brethren 
with the bestowal of the royal scepter and other ornaments. 
Then he was conducted through the middle of the choir to the 
high altar, thence to the shrine ; then after the customary sac- 
rifice had been oflfered before each place, he returned again to 
the choir; then after looking again at the throne erected for 
the royal person, he ascended it, and, seating himself, declared 
again the source of his claim so clearly, distinctly, and openly 
that all were better able to understand how he was the true 
heir of the kingdom, and how the management of this kingdom 
ought to come to him by law. 

Edward introduced more thrifty financial methods into 
the government than had been used before. The follow- 
ing are two instances described in Fabyan's Chronicle. 

This year this king, intending to make a voyage over sea 
into France, called before him his lords severally, both spirit- 
ual and temporal, to know their good minds, what of their free 
wills they would aid and give him toward the said voyage. 
And after he had so kno\vn their good disposition toward him, 
he then sent for the mayor of London and his brethren the 
aldermen and them severally examined and exhorted to aid 
and assist him toward the said journey, of which the mayor 
for his part granted ^30, and of the aldermen some 20 marks, 
and the least £\o. And that done, he sent for all the trusty 
commoners within the said city, and them exhorted in like 
manner, which for the more part granted to him half the wages 
of a man for a year, the which amounted to £^ iis. 4^. And 
after that he rode about the greater part of the land, and used 
the people in such fair manner that he raised thereby notable 
sums of money, the which way of the levying of his money was 
after named a benevolence. 



The Houses of Lancaster' and York 301 

He resumed possession of nearly all the royal estates, re- 183. Edward's 
eardless of those to whom they had been granted, and applied shrewd finan- 
the whole thereof to the support of the expenses of the crown, ments 
Throughout all the ports of the kingdom he appointed in- 
spectors of the customs, men of remarkable shrewdness, but 
too hard, according to general report, upon the merchants. 
The king himself, also, having procured merchant ships, loaded 
them with the finest wool, cloth, tin, and other products, and, 
like a private individual living by trade, bartered his merchan- 
dise with both Italians and Greeks through his agents. The 
revenues of vacant prelacies, which, according to Magna Carta, 
cannot be sold, he would only part with at a stated sum, and 
on no other terms whatever. He also examined the register 
and rolls of Chancery, and exacted heavy fines from those 
whom he found to have entered into possession of their estates 
without prosecuting their rights in legal form, by way of return 
for the rents which they had meanwhile received ; added to 
which he had a yearly payment of ^10,000 from France, and 
numerous tenths from the clergy. Thus in a few years he be- 
came an extremely wealthy prince. 

One of the first pieces of English historical w^riting of 
a modern character was Sir Thomas More's Historie of 
Kynge RicJiarde the Thirde, from which the following 
extracts are taken. 



Whereupon sone after, that is on the Friday the 13 day 184. History 

of F- • ' 

III 



of June, many lordes assembled in the Tower, and there sat o' Richard 



in counsaile, devising the honorable solempnite of the kinges 
coronacion, of which the time appointed then so nere ap- 
proched, that the pageauntes and suttelties were in making 
day and night at Westminster, and much vitaile killed ther- 
fore, that afterward was cast away. These lordes so sytting 
togyther comoning of thys matter, the protectour came in 
among them, fyrst aboute nine of the clock, saluting them 
curtesly, and excusying hymself that he had ben from them so 
long, saieng merely that he had bene a slepe that day. And 
after a little talking with them, he sayd unto the bishop of 



302 Readings in English History 

Elye : My lord, you have very good strawberies at your gar- 
dayne in Holberne ; I require you let us have a messe of them. 
Gladly my lord, quod he ; woulde God I had some better thing 
as redy to your pleasure as that. And therwith in al the hast 
Richard's he sent hys servant for a messe of strauberies. The protectour 
pretense of ggt^e the lordes fast in comoning, and therupon prayeng them 
""^''' to spare hym for a little while departed thence. And sone, 

• after one hower, betwene ten and eleven he returned mto the 
chamber among them, al changed, with a wonderful soure 
angrye countenaunce, knitting the browes, frownmg and frotmg 
and knawing on hys lippes, and so sat him downe m hys place ; 
al the lordes much dismaied and sore merveihng of this maner 
of sodain chaunge, and what thing should him aile. Then when 
he had sitten still awhile, thus he began; What were they 
worthy to have, that compasse and ymagine the distruccion of 
me being so nere of blood unto the king and protectour of his 
rial! person and his realme? At this question, al the lordes sat 
sore astonied, musyng much by whome thys question should 
be ment, of which every man wyst himselfe clere. Then the 
lord chamberlen, as he that for the love betwene them thoughte 
he might be boldest with him, aunswered and sayd, that thei 
wer worthye to bee punished as heighnous traitors, whatsoever 
they were. And al the other afifirmed the same. That is (quod 
he) yonder sorceres my brother's wife and other with her, mean- 
ing the quene. At these wordes many of the other lordes were 
gretly abashed that favoured her. But the lord Hastmges was 
in his minde better content, that it was moved by her, then 
by any other whom he loved better. Albeit hys harte some- 
what grudged, that he was not afore made of counsell m this 
mater, as he was of the taking of her kynred, and of their put- 
ting to death, which were by his assent before devised to bee 
byhedded at Pountfreit, this selfe same day, in which he was 
not ware that it was by other devised, that himself should the 
same day be behedded at London. Then said the protectour : 
ye shal al se in what wise that sorceres and that other witch 
of her counsel, Shoris wife, with their affynite, have by their 
sorcery and witchcraft wasted my body. And therwith he 
plucked up hys doublet sieve to his elbow upon his left arme, 



The Houses of Lajicaster and York 303 

where he shewed a werish withered arme and small, as it was 
never other. And thereupon every mannes mind sore misgave 
them, well perceiving that this matter was but a quarel. For 
wel thei wist, that the quene was to wise to go aboute any such 
folye. And also if she would, yet wold she of all folke leste 
make Shoris wife of counsaile, whom of al women she most 
hated, as that concubine whom the king her husband had 
most loved. And also no man was there present, but wel knew 
that his harme was ever such since his birth. Natheles the lorde 
Chamberlen aunswered and sayd : certainly my lorde if they 
have so heinously done, thei be worthy heinouse punishment. 

What, quod the protectour, thou servest me, I wene, with Execution of 
iffes and andes, I tel the thei have done so, and that I will several lords 

1 , , , . » 1 1 -1 • of the Council 

make good on thy body, traitour. And therwith as m a great 
anger, he clapped his fist upon the borde a great rappe. At 
which token given, one cried treason without the chambre. 
Therewith a dore clapped, and in come there rushing men in 
barneys as many as the chambre might hold. And anon the 
protectour sayd to the lorde Hastinges : I arest the, traitour. 
What, me, my lorde? quod he. Yea, thee, traitour, quod the 
protectour. And another let flee at the Lorde Standley which 
shronke at the stroke and fel under the table, or els his hed 
had ben clefte to the tethe : for as shortely as he shranke, yet 
ranne the blood aboute hys eares. Then were they al quickly 
bestowed in diverse chambres, except the lorde Chamberlen, 
whom the protectour bade spede and shryve hym apace, for 
by saynt Poule (quod he) I wil not to dinner til I se thy hed 
of. It boted him not to ask why, but hevely he toke a priest 
at adventure, and made a short shrift, for a longer would not 
be suffered, the protectour made so much hast to dyner ; which 
he might not go to til this wer done for saving of his othe. So 
was he brought forth into the grene beside the chappel within 
the Tower, and his head laid upon a long log of timbre, and 
there striken of, and afterward his body with the hed entred at 
Windsore beside the body of Kinge Edward, whose both soules 
our Lord pardon. . . . 

King Richarde after his coronacion, takyng his way to 
Gloucester to visit, in his newe honor, the towne of which he 



304 Readings in English History 

bare the name of his old, devised as he roode to fulfil that 
thing which he before had intended. And forasmuch as his 
minde gave him that, his nephewes living, men woulde not 
recken that hee could have right to the realm, he thought 
therfore without delay to rid them, as though the killing of 
his kinsmen could amend his cause, and make him a kindly- 
king. And calling up syr James, brake to him secretely his 
mind in this mischievous matter. In whiche he founde him 
nothing strange. Wherfore on the morow he sente him to 
Brakenbury with a letter, by which he was commaunded to 
deliver sir James all the kayes of the Tower for one nyght, 
to the ende he might there accomplish the kinges pleasure, in 
such thing as he had geven him commaundement. After which 
letter delivered and the kayes received, sir James appointed 
the night nexte ensuing to destroy them, devysing before and 
preparing the meanes. The prince, as soone as the protector 
left that name and toke himself as king, had it shewed unto 
him, that he should not reigne, but his uncle should have the 
crowne. At which worde the prince sore abashed, began to 
sigh and said : Alas I woulde my uncle woulde lette me have 
my lyfe yet, though I lese my kingdome. Then he that tolde 
the tale, used him with good wordes, and put him in the 
Murder of best comfort he could. But forthwith was the prince and his 
the princes brother bothe shet up, and all other removed from them, 
onely one called black Wil or William Slaughter except, set to 
serve them and see them sure. After whiche time the prince 
never tyed his pointes, nor ought rought of hymselfe, but with 
that young babe hys brother, lingered in thought and heavines 
til his tratorous death delivered them of that wretchednes. 
For sir James Tirel devised that thei shold be murthered in 
their beddes. To the execucion wherof, he appointed Miles 
Forest, one of the foure that kept them, a felowe fleshed in 
murther before time. To him he joyned one John Dighton, 
his own horsekeper, a big brode square strong knave. Then 
al the other beeing removed from them, thys Miles Forest and 
John Dighton, about midnight (the sely children lying in their 
beddes) came into the chamber, and sodainly lapped them up 
among the clothes, so bewrapped them and entangled them, 



The Houses of Lancaster and York 305 

keping down by force the fetherbed and pillowes hard unto 
their mouthes, that withm a while smored and stifled, theyr 
breath faihng, thei gave up to God their innocent soules into 
the joyes of heaven, leaving to the tormentors their bodys dead 
in the bed. Whiche after that the wretches parceived, first by 
the strugling with the paines of death, and after long lying 
styll, to be throughly dead ; they laide their bodies naked out 
upon the bed, and fetched sir James to see them. Which 
upon the sight of them, caused those murtherers to burye 
them at the stayre foote, metely depe in the grounde under 
a gr'eat heape of stones. Than rode sir James in great hast 
to king Richarde, and shewed him al the maner of the mur- 
ther, who gave hym gret thanks and, as som say, there made 
him knight. . . . 



CHAPTER XII 

THE EARLY TUDOR PERIOD, 1485-1558 

I. Henry VII and His Policy 

The private accounts kept by'Henry VII are still pre- 
served. They illustrate the close connection between the 
life of the king as a private person and his public duties 
as ruler of the kingdom. Sums spent to pay soldiers, am- 
bassadors, and the costs of fortification are intermingled 
with rewards to musicians and clowns, payments of the 
king's gambling debts, the cost of his clothes, and a gift 
of ;^io to John Cabot as a reward for his discovery of 
America. The journal shows Henry's methodical and 
careful habits, and the frequent changes of his residt-hce 
and visits to his subjects. All the entries of the year 
1497 and a few of those of the next three years are given 
here, and with a little ingenuity and patience can still be 
read in the exact language in which Henry wrote them. 

185. Extracts January 2. For cristennyng of Wynslow childe, ;£t, 6s. ?>d. 
from the -pg jj^gh Denes for a musk ball, 6 ^. 8 d. 

account book January 6. To Hugh Vaughan for two harpers, 13 j-. 4//. To 
of Henry VII Graunt Pier the founder, in rewarde, ;£-i . To Courtevild th'en- 
(1497-1501) bassadour of Flanders, £2,2, 6s. ^d. 

January 7. For two new greate gestes, £1 13 j-. 4^. To a 
litelle mayden that daunceth, £12. To a Walshe man that 
maketh rymes, 6 s. Sd. 

January 20. To John Flee for a case for the capp and 
swerde of mayntenance, £1 2 s. 

306 



TJic Early Tudor Pe?'iod 307 

February i. Delivered to the Quenes grace for to pay hir 
detts, which is to be repayed, ;^20oo. Delivered to the Sergeant 
of the Pultry to mete th'archeduc suster, £40. To Sir Thomas 
Lovell for cost made aboute the Lorde Fitzwater, ;^5 5 J. 8 d. 

February 17. Delivered to William Fysher, tresorer, for my 
Lorde of York expenses, ;^i66 d>s. To the Quenes fi^eler in 
rewarde, jQi 6s.?> d. To the gardener at Shene for graftes, £^2. 

February 19. To the grete Walshe childe, 6^-. Si-/. 

March 17. At Shene. To Bayly for watching the crowes, 
\2>s. \d. Delivered to my Lady Fitzwater, £,2)2> 6-^- (id. De- 
livered and sent by the Kinges comandment to York, Durham, 
and Newcastel, ^{^4000. 

March 31. Delivered to the Greke in rewarde, ^^4. T9 the 
freer that pr£ched in Frehsh, £2. 

April 3. To a Walshe rymer in rewarde, 13X. 4^. 

April 17. At London. — 21. At Grenewich. To Dr. Mydel- 
ton going enbassadour, ^^. To Dr. Ruthall going with hym, 
^23 ds.Zd. 

May I. For redemyng of prisoners oute of the Kinges 
Benche, ;^7 14^'. 8^. 

May 13. Delivered and sent by the Kinges comandment 
to Berwik towards the werrs, d[,(>2>^o. 

May 24. For redemying of. sertain persons oute of the 
Marchalsie by bille, ^3 17 J. \d. Delivered to the Goferer 
for asmoch money payed by Master Hugh Oldeham, for 100 
peces of Cornyshe tynne, ^250. 

May 31. Delivered to the Quenes grace for juels, jQ-i)^ 
I ox. To a woman for aqua vite, 5 J". 

June. 5. Delivered to th'enbassadour of Naples, ^66 13X. 
i,d. To Sir John Cheyne by M. Esterfeld, ^100. 

June 9. At Alesbury. — 11. At Bucks. — 12. At Banbury. 

June 12. Payde for a pair of kerving knyves, £\ ds. %d. 

June 13. AtWodestok. — 14. At Abingdon. — 15. At Wal- 
ingford. — 16. At Reding and Windsor. — 17. At Kingeston. 
— 18. At Seint Georgefeld. — 19. At Blakeheth. 

June 23. At the Towre. To Burley for keping of S. Th. 
Turnebull, ^4 4^-. <)d. Paide opon a bille for the werrs, ^40 
I3J-. 4c/. To one that toke the Lorde Audeley, jQ\. To my 



308 Readings in English History 

Lorde Dacres servant that toke the Lorde Audeley, for his 
costs, jQi 6 s. 8^. 

June 24, Midsomer Day. For making of the bone fuyr, lox. 

June 30. To two Ambassadours of Fraunce, ^1^40. To three 

other Frenchmen in rewarde, j£io. To one that toke the 

To the queen Lorde Audeley, ;^2. To the Priour of the Charterhouse serv- 

for ornament- ^^^^ £qj. ^ table of ymagery, 6 s. ?,d. To the Ouenes grace for 

ing a helmet . / ^, ^ ' V, . & 

garnishuig of a salett, ^,10. 

July I. At Shene. Delivered and sent by the Kinges 
comandment northward for the Kinges werrs, ^12,000. For 
paling of Eltham parke, ^i. 

July 21. To my Lorde of Dudley bastard broder, ^^66 8j. 

July 26. To Quintyn Paulet for a boke, ^^23. 

July 29. At Netley. — 30. At Wodestok. For sixteen pair 
of gloves, 5 i-. 4 ^. 

August 9. To John Yandelf for garnyshing of a salett, 
;^38 is.ii^d. For twenty jacquetts of the best sorte, -Qi() 
6s. 4d. For browdering of the same jacquetts, ^18. For 
garnyshing of the Kinges swerde, ^6 10 s. '] d. 
To John Cabot August lo. To hym that founde the new Isle, ^10. 

August 19. At Cornebury. — 21. At Mynst. Lovell. — 22. At 
Wodestok. To two freers of Inde in rewarde, 3^". 4^/. 

August 30. Delivered to Robert Courte for to be delivered 
to the Kinges comissioners in the weste partyes, ;,^333 6s. 8d. 
To Jakes Haute for the tenes playe, ^10. For making of the 
Kinges standing in the parke opon a bille, ^i ij s. 6d. 

September i. To Piers Lloid for convening of Seint mary 
men to the Tour of London, 13 j-. 4^/. 

September 10. To John Myklow for th'enbassadoures ex- 
penses at Oxford, upon a bille, ^2 1 1 i". 2d. Delivered tc 
Richard Emson for to cary to Exeter for the busyness ther 
^666 13^.4^/. 

September 20. Delivered for the retynue of Sir Johr 
Cheyne, ^£"500. To Robert Whitlok, Thomas Bromfeld, Johr 
Sharp, Richard Pitt, lying as posts, ^£2. 

September 22. Delivered to Doctour Mydelton, to conve) 
to my Lord Chamber layn, ^666 it, s. 4 d. To four cartes fo 
carage of money three days from London to Wodestok, ^4. 



The Early Ttidor Period 309 

September 25. To a man that come from Perkyn, £,\. 

September 27. At Cistiter. — 28. At Malmesbury. — 29. At 
Bathe. — 30. At Wells. To cary to my Lorde Chamberlayn at 
Excester, ^^500. 

September 30. Payd and dehvered to diverse Capitaines for 
their wages with ther retynue, ;j^4ooo. 

October i. At Welles. For a Guyde to Bathe in rewarde, 
I X. 8 ^. 

October 2. At Glastonbury. — 3. At Bridgewater. — 4. At 
Tawnton. For the Kinges losse at cardes at Tawnton, ^9. 

October 5. This day came Perkin Werbek. — 6. At Tiver- invasion by 
ton. — 7. At Excester. Warteck 

October 15. To Garter for two cote armours bought for 
the Lord Audeley, 13^'. 4^^. To Robert Suthewell for horses, 
sadells, and other necessarys bought for the conveying of my 
Lady Kateryn Huntleye, ^7 13 x. \d. 

November 3. At Otery. — 4. At Newnham. — 10. At Brid- 
port. — II. At Dorchester. — 12. At Blanford. — 13. At Sales- 
bury. — 14. At Andover. — 15. At Frefold. — 18. At Basingstok. 
— 19. At Esthamsted. — 20. At Windesor. — 21. At Shene. — 
27. At Westminster. 

December x. To my Lady Kateryn Huntleye, ^2. 

December 3. To my Lady the Kinge's moder's poete, ^3 
ds.'id. 

December 8. To a surgeon that heled my Lorde Kildare 
sone, in rewarde, ;Q2. 

December 10. To Piers Barbor for spices for ypocras, ds. ?>d. 
To Hugh Denes for the Kinges pley at dice upon Friday last 
passed, jQ^ \^s. To Courtevild enbassador of Flanders, ;z{^20. 

December 18. Delivered by the Kinges comandment in 
repayment of diverse lones, ^3364. To blynde Cunnyngham, 
13 J-. 4^. To the enbassadour of Spain in rew^arde, ;£66 15 J. 
To Hugh Denes for Perkyns costs, ^2. 

December 24. To my Lorde of Landaff for belding at Shene, 
over and besides ^40 to hym delivered in prest, ;j^ioi 4 j. 2d. 

For rewardes yeven to them that founde the Kings juels at 
Shene, ^20. To the gardyner for sope hashes, 10 s. For two 



3IO 



Readings in English History 



pairs of bellows, \od. To my Lorde Prince poete in rewarde, 
;^3 6 s. Sd. For the wages of the Kinges scoler, John Taillor, 
at Oxenford, ;£2 los. To Robert Jones upon a bille for Per- 
kyns horsemete unto the first day of February, j£i Ss. 6d. 
To John Atkynson for a paper boke, ^s.^d. To Story the 
Carpenter for making a galery at Grenewich, ^2. To one 
that tumblet at Eltham, j^i. To the Secretary of Venes in 
rewarde, ^20. 

Delivered to Launcelot Thirkill going towards the new He 
in prest, ;!^2 0. To Thomas Bradley and Launcelot Thirkill 
going to the new Isle, ^^30. To Arnolde pleyer at recorders, 
j£i. To John Carter going to the newe He in rewarde, ;^2. 
To Sir Pieter for a masse boke, 8^. To the Quenes grace, 
P^6 iT,s. 4.d. 'To one that bloweth on a home, Ss. ^d. To 
the maryners of the Sovereigne, ;£i. To a Preste that made 
powder, 13 x. 4^, To Robert Taillor the Quenes surgeon, ^t, 
6s.Sd. 

Delivered by the Kinges comandment for to repay the lone 
money, ;^i 0,000. For a cote and a payr of hooses bought 
and made for the Kinges fole, 1 5 J. 2d. For making of a bone- 
fyr, IOJ-. To the binding of the Kepars doughter of Westmin- 
ister to prentassode, ^4. To Arnold Jeffrey, orgon pleyer, for 
a quarter wages unto Midsomer last, 10 s. To Master Con- 
yngesby servaunt and Master Frowick servaunt for writing of 
sertayn bokes for the King, ^^3 6 s. 8d. To one that founde 
a Stok dove, is. To a fole at Master Knyvett's, 3J-. 4^/. To 
a piper at Huntingdon, 2 s. To my Lorde Prince organ pleyers 
for a quarter wages endid at Michellmas, 10 s. 

To Olyver Tonor for relikes, in rewarde, ^2 13^.4^. To 
Master William Paronus, an astronymyre, ;^i. To one that 
went to the Holylande, ^i. 

Delivered and payd by the Kinges comandement opon a 
bille signed, ^4820. To the Maygame at Grenewich, 4 s. For 
the Kinges losse at tenes, Ss. To the pleyers with marvels, 
-£4. To the Printers at Westm, ^i. To a woman for a rede 
rosse, 2S. To the Kinges piper in rewarde, lOi'. To the Pope's 
collect servant for hauks, 10s. To th'enbassadour of Spayn in 
rewarde, ^66 15^, To a Frensheman for sertain bokes, _£^6 



The Early Tudor Period 311 

4 J. Delivered by the Kinges comandment for his werks in 
sondry and diverse places, jP^id^o. To Quintyn for iii bokes, 
j[^\. To one that brought the King date treesse, ds. 2>d. To 
."'»an astronomyer for a prognosticacon, ^t, 6 s. Sd. To a felow 
for eting of coles, 6s. Sd. Delivered to John Myklow for 
th'expens of th'ambassadour of Flanders to London, ^£6 3 J." 
3</. To Thomas Blakall the Kinges foule, 6^. Sd. 

Raimondo Soncino, vv^ho wrote the following letter, 
was an Italian clergyman, spending some time in Eng- 
land in the reign of Henry VII. He gives one of the 
earliest reports of the voyage of John Cabot, this letter 
being written only about three months after Cabot's 
return from his voyage of exploration. The letter not 
only gives some idea of the plans of Cabot, and the new 
English interest in discoveries and trade, but shows the 
keen interest of Italians, such as the writer of the letter 
and the duke of Milan, to whom it is addressed, in all 
that was going on in the world. 

Most Illustrious and Excellent My Lord : 186. Raimon- 

Perhaps among your Excellency's many occupations, it may ^° Soncino to 
not displease you to learn how his Majesty here has won a part gforza duke 
of Asia without a stroke of the sword. There is, in this king- of Milan, 
dom, a Venetian fellow. Master John Caboto by name, of fine f™'JV»^°'^^. 
mind, greatly skilled in navigation, who, seeing that those most ber 18, 1497) 
serene kings, first the king of Portugal and then the king of 
Spain, have occupied unknown islands, determined to make a 
like acquisition for his Majesty aforesaid. 

And having obtained royal grants that he should have the 
usufruct of all that he should discover, provided that the 
ownership of the same is reserved to the crown, with a small 
ship and eighteen persons he committed himself to fortune ; 
and, having set out from Bristol, a western port of this king- 
dom, he passed the western limits of Ireland. Then stand- 
ing to the northward, he began to sail toward the oriental 
regions, leaving (after a few days) the north star on his right 



312 Readings in EnglisJi History 

hand. Having wandered about considerably, at last he struck 
the mainland, where he planted the royal banner and took 
possession on behalf of this king, and having taken certain 
tokens, returned thence. 

The said IMaster John, as being foreign born and poor, 
would not be believed, if his comrades, who are almost all 
Englishmen and from Bristol, did not testify that what he says 
is true. This Master John has the description of the world on 
a chart, and also on a solid globe which he has made, and he 
shows where he landed, and that going toward the east he 
passed considerably beyond the country of the Tanais. And 
they say that it is a very good and temperate country, and 
they think that Brazil wood and silk grow there ; and they 
afifirm that that sea is covered with fishes, which are caught 
not only with the net but with baskets, a stone being tied to 
the baskets in order that they may sink in the water. And 
this I heard the said Master John relate. 
Cabot expects And the aforesaid Englishmen, his comrades, say that they 
to reach Japan ^,-^ bring SO much fish that this kingdom will no longer have 
need of Iceland, from which country there comes a very grea' 
store of fish, which are called stockfish. But Master John ha 
set his mind on something greater ; for he expects to g 
farther on toward the east from that place already occupied, 
constantly hugging the shore, until he shall be over against an 
island, by him called Cipango, situated in the equinoctia" 
region, where he thinks all the spices of the world, and als' 
the precious stones, originate. 

He says that in former times he was at Mecca, whithei 
spices are brought by caravans from distant countries, and 
that those who brought them, on being asked where the said 
spices grow, answered that they do not know, but that othei 
caravans come to their homes with this merchandise from dis- 
tant countries, and these again report that they are brought tc 
them from other remote regions. 

And he argues thus, — that if the Orientals affirmed to the 
Southerners that these things come from a distance from them 
and so from hand to hand ; presupposing the rotundity of tl" 
earth it must be that the last ones get them at the norl 



The Early Tudor Period 3 1 3 

toward the west ; and he said it in such a way that, having Cabot believes 
nothing to gain or lose by it I too believe it : and, what is ^'^^'^ ^^^ ^P^*^^ 

, 1 ■ 1 , ■ ■ ■ 1 1 • 1 1-, • regions can be 

more, the king here, who is wise and not lavish, likewise puts reached by 
some faith in him ; for ever since his return he has made good sailing to the 
provision for him, as the same Master John tells me. And it """^^ ^" 
is said that in the spring his Majesty aforenamed will fit out 
some ships, and will, besides, give him all the convicts, and 
they will go to that country to make a colony, by means of 
which they hope to establish in London a greater emporium 
of spices than there is in Alexandria. The chief men of the 
enterprise ^re of Bristol, great sailors, who, now that they 
know where to go, say that it is not a voyage of more than 
fifteen days, nor do they ever have storms after they get away 
from Ireland. 

I have also talked with a Burgundian, a comrade of Master The writer 
John's, who confirms everything, and wishes to return thither makes a 

1 r Till -ii- humorous 

because the admiral (for so Master John already entitles him- petition for a 
self) has given him an island ; and he has given another one good office 
to a barber of his from Castiglione-of-Geiioa, and both of them 
■ regard themselves as counts, nor does my lord, the admiral, 
i esteem himself anything less than a prince. I think that with 
3 this expedition there will go several poor Italian monks, who 
oha^e all been promised bishoprics. And, as I have become a 
• fiend of the admiral's, if I wished to go thither I should get 
an archbishopric. But I have thought that the benefices which 
' your Excellency has in store for me are a surer thing. There- 
-fore I beg that if these should fall vacant in my absence, you 
will cause possession to be given to me, taking measures to do 
this when it is needed, in order that they be not taken from 
me by others, who, because they are present, can be more 
diligent than I. During my stay in this country I have fre- 
quently been brought to the pass of eating ten or twelve dishes 
at every meal, and sitting at table three hours at a time twice 
a day, for the sake of your Excellency, — to whom I now 
humbly commend myself. 

Your Excellency's 

Very humble servant, 

L^AIiMONDO. 



314 



Readings in English History 



187. Erasmus 

to Robert 

Fisher, 

English 

fppresenta- 

tive in Italy 

(1499) 



The following letters from Erasmus, the first three 
written from England to various friends in Italy or in 
Holland, the fourth written long afterward but describ- 
ing his experiences while in England, will give some 
idea of the group of learned men living in England 
at that time, of their interests, and of the family of 
Henry VH. 

I have been rather afraid of writing to you, dearest Robert, 
not that I feared your affection had been at all lessened by 
such distances of time and place, but because you are in a 
country where the walls are more learned and eloquent than 
our men ; so that what we here think eloquent and beautiful 
cannot but seem poor and rude and tasteless there. Your Eng- 
land naturally expects you to return not only most learned in 
the laws but equally loquacious in Greek and Latin. You 
would have seen me, too, in Italy before this time if my lord 
Mountjoy, when I was prepared for the journey, had not carried 
me off to England. Whither, indeed, would I not follow a 
young man so courteous, so amiable ? I would follow him, by 
heaven, to the grave itself. You had amply sounded his preises, 
and described him like a picture ; but he daily surpasses both 
your praises and the opinion I had myself formed of him. 

But how do you like our England? you will say. Believe me, 
my Robert, Avhen I answer that I never liked anything so much 
before. I find the climate both pleasant and wholesome ; and 
I have met with so much kindness and so much learning — not 
hackneyed and trivial, but deep, accurate, ancient Latin and 
Greek — that but for the curiosity of seeing it, I do not now care 
so much for Italy. When I hear my Colet, I seem to be listen- 
ing to Plato himself. In Grocyn, who does not marvel at such 
a perfect round of learning? What can be more acute, pro- 
found, and delicate than the judgment of Linacre? What has 
nature ever created more gentle, more sweet, more happy than 
t^«- eenius of Thomas More } I need not go through the list. 
It IS majvelous how general and abundant is the harvest of 
ancient learning in this country, to which you ought all the 



The Early Tiidor Period 315 

sooner to return. My lord has so kind a remembrance of you 
that he speaks of no one more often or with more pleasure. 
Farewell. From London, in haste, this fifth day of December. 

How I wish you had been present, as I expected, at that 188. Erasmus 

feast of ours. Nothing was wanting. A choice time, choice *° Sixtinus. 
, 1 1 rr-.! 1 1 11 From Oxford 

place, no arrangements neglected, ihe good cheer would (1409) 

have satisfied Epicurus ; the table talk would have pleased 
Pythagoras. The guests might have peopled an Academy and 
not merely made up a dinner party. First, there was Prior 
Richard, that high priest of the Graces ; then the divine who 
had preached the Latin sermon the same day, a person of 
modesty as well as learning; then your friend Philip, most 
cheerful and witty, Colet, assertor and champion of the old 
theology, was at the head of the table. On his right sat the 
prior, a man in whose composition there is an admirable mix- 
ture of learning, benevolence, and honesty. On Colet's left 
sat the more modern theologian. His left was covered by me, 
that the banquet might not be without a poet, while opposite 
to me sat Philip, to represent the legal profession. Below was 
a mixed and nameless assembly. . . . 

... I have now been spending some months with my lord 189. Erasmus 
Mountjoy, who made a great point of calling me back to Eng- to Servatms, 
land, not without the general agreement of the learned of this of steyn, 
country. For there are, at London, five or six men who are Holland, 
accurate scholars in both tongues, such as I think even Italy , "J^™ °° "° 
itself does not at present possess. I do not set any value on 
myself ; but it seems there is not one of these that does not 
make much of my capacity and learning. And if it were in 
any circumstances allowable to boast, I might, at any rate, be 
pleased to have gained the approbation of those whose pre- 
eminence in letters the most envious and the most hostile can- 
not deny. But for myself, I think nothing settled unless I have 
the approval of Christ, on whose single will all our felicity 
depends. Farewell. 

... I was staying at Lord Mountjoy' s country house when 
Thomas More came to see me and took me out with him for 



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Readings in English History 



190. From 
Erasmus' 
Catalogue 
of Lucu • 
b rations 
(1523) 



a walk as far as the next village, where all the kmg's children, 
except Prince Arthur, who was then the eldest son, were 
being educated. When we came into the hall, the attendants 
not only of the palace but also of Mountjoy's household were 
all assembled. In the midst stood Prince Henry, then nine 
years old, and having already something of royalty in his de- 
meanor, in which there was a certain dignity combined with 
singular courtesy. On his right was Margaret, almost eleven 
years of age, afterward married to James, king of Scots ; and 
on his left played Mary, a child of four. Edmund was an in- 
fant in arms. More, with his companion, Arnold, after paying 
his respects to the boy Henry, the same that is now king of 
England, presented him with some writing. For my part, not 
having expected anything of the sort, I had nothing to offer, 
but promised that on another occasion I would in some way 
declare my duty towards him. Meantime I was angry with 
More for not having warned me, especially as the boy sent 
me a little note while we were at dinner, to challenge some- 
thing from my pen. . . . 

One more letter from Erasmus may be given to show 
some of the ways of life of the English people at 
that time. 



Cardinal 

WolSPS' 



191. Erasmus ... I am frequently astonished and grieved to think how it is 

toDr.Francis, j.|^^^ England has been now for so many years troubled by a con- 
physician to ° ■' ■' -' 

tinual pestilence, especially by a deadly sweat, which appears 

in a great measure to be peculiar to your country. I have read 

how a city was once delivered from a plague by a change in the 

houses, made at the suggestion of a philosopher. I am inclined 

to think that this, also, must be the deliverance for England. 

First of all, Englishmen never consider the aspect of their 

doors or windows ; next, their chambers are built in such a 

way as to admit of no ventilation. Then a great part of the 

walls of the house is occupied with glass casements, which admit 

light but exclude the air, and yet they let in the draught through 

holes and corners, which is often pestilential and stagnates 

there. The floors are, in general, laid with white clay, and are 



The Early Tudor Period 317 

covered with rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly 
that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for twenty 
years, harboring expectorations, vomitings, the leakage of dogs 
and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abomina- 
tions not fit to be mentioned. Whenever the weather changes 
a vapor is exhaled, which I consider very detrimental to health. 
I may add that England is not only everywhere surrounded by 
sea, but is, in many places, swampy and marshy, intersected 
by salt rivers, to say nothing of salt provisions, in which the 
common people take so much delight. I am confident the 
.island would be much more salubrious if the use of rushes 
were abandoned, and if the rooms were built in such a way as 
to be exposed to the sky on two or three sides, and all the 
windows so built as to be opened or closed at once, and so 
completely closed as not to admit the foul air through chinks ; 
for as it is beneficial to health to admit the air, so it is equally 
beneficial at times to exclude it. The common people laugh 
at you if you complain of a cloudy or foggy day. Thirty years 
ago, if ever I entered a room which had not been occupied 
for some months, I was sure to take a fever. More modera- 
tion in diet, and especially in the use of salt meats, might be 
of service ; more particularly were public officers appointed 
to see the streets cleaned from mud and filth, and the suburbs 
kept in better order. . . . 

Sir Thomas More's Utopia, from which the following 
extracts are taken, was written in Latin in 15 15, and 
first printed in Louvain in 15 16. It is the most famous 
of a number of books written about this period advo- 
cating reforms in education, in the government, and 
in general social organization. The Utopia is in two 
books ; the first professes to describe the circumstances 
that led to its being written, the second to be a descrip- 
tion of the land of Utopia itself. 

Henry the Eighth, the unconquered king of England, a 
prince adorned with all the virtues that become a great 



3i8 



Readifigs in English History 



192. Extracts 
from Utopia 
(Greek for 
Nowhere) 



itaphael 

Hythloday 
(Greek for 
Chatterer), a 
companion 
of Americus 
Vespucius, 
whose Voy- 
ages were 
printed in 
1507, nine 
years before 
Utopia 



monarch, having some differences of no small consequence 
with Charles, the most serene prince of Castile, sent me into 
Flanders, as his ambassador, for treating and composing mat- 
ters between them. I was colleague and companion to that 
incomparable man, Cuthbert Tunstal, whom the king, with 
such universal applause, lately made Master of the Rolls ; but 
of whom I will say nothing ; not because I fear the testimony 
of a friend will be suspected, but rather because his learning 
and virtues are too great for me to do them justice, and so 
well known that they need not my commendations, unless I 
would, according to the proverb, " Show the sun with a lan- 
tern." Those that were-appointed by the prince to treat with us 
met us at Bruges, according to agreement. . . . After we had 
several times met without coming to an agreement, they went 
to Brussels for some days to know the prince's pleasure ; and 
since our business would admit it, I went to Antwerp. 

While I was there, among many that visited me, there was 
one that was more acceptable to me than any other, — Peter 
Giles, born at Antwerp, who is a man of great honor, and of 
a good rank in his town, though less than he deserves ; for 
I do not know if there be anywhere to be found a more 
learned and better bred young man. . . . One day as I was 
returning home from Mass, at St. Mary's, which is the chief 
church, and the most frequented of any in Antwerp, I saw 
him, by accident, talking with a stranger, who seemed past 
the flower of his age ; his face was tanned, he had a long 
beard, and his cloak was hanging carelessly about him, so that 
by his looks and habit I concluded he was a seaman. As soon 
as Peter saw me, he came and saluted me ; and as I was re- 
turning his civility, he took me aside and pointing to him with 
whom he had been discoursing, he said : " Do you see that 
man ? I was just thinking to bring him to you. . . . He is a 
Portuguese by birth, and was so desirous of seeing the world, 
that he divided his estate among his brothers, run the same 
hazard as Americus Vespucius, and bore a share in three of 
his four voyages that are now published ; only he did not 
return with him on his last, but obtained leave of him almost 
by force, that he might be one of those twenty-four who were 



TJic Early Tudor Period 3 1 9 

left at the farthest place at which they touched in their last 
voyage to New Castile." . . . After those civilities were past, 
which are usual with strangers upon their first meeting, we 
all went to my house, and, entering into the garden, sat down 
on a green bank, and entertained one another with discourse. 
... As he told us of many things that were amiss in those 
new-discovered countries, so he reckoned up not a few things 
from which patterns might be taken for correcting the errors 
of these nations among which we live ; of which an account 
may be given, as I have already promised, at some other time ; 
for at present I intend only to relate those particulars that he 
told us of the manners and laws of the Utopians. . . . 

Next to the market places in Amaurote, stand meat Meat markets 
markets ; whither be brought not only all sorts of herbs, and ^" Amaurote, 
the fruits of trees, with bread, but also fish, and all manner of Utopia 
four-footed beasts, and wild fowl that be man's meat. But 
first the filthiness and odor thereof is clean washed away in 
the running river without the city, in places appointed meet 
for the same purpose. From thence the beasts be brought in 
killed and clean washed by the hands of their bondmen. For 
they permit not their free citizens to accustom themselves to Freemen 
the killing of beasts, through the use whereof they think clem- cannot be 

butchers 

ency, the gentlest affection of our nature, by little and little to 
decay and perish. Neither do they suffer anything that is 
filthy, loathsome, or uncleanly, to be brought into the city, 
lest the air, by the stench thereof infected and corrupt, should 
cause pestilent diseases. 

Moreover every street hath certain large halls set in equal Public eating 
distance one from another, every one known by a several houses 
name. In these halls dwelt the syphogrants. And to every 
one of the same halls be appointed thirty families, on either 
side fifteen. The stewards of every hall at a certain hour 
come into the meat markets, where they receive meat accord- 
ing to the number of their halls. 

But first and chiefly of all, respect is had to the sick, that The hospitals 
be cured in the hospitals. For in the circuit of the city, a little 
without the walls, they have four hospitals, so big, so wide, so 



320 



Readings in English History 



ample, and so large, that they may seem four little towns, 

which were devised of that bigness partly to the intent the 

sick, be they never so many in number, should not lie too 

thronged and strait, and therefore uneasily and uncommo- 

diously; and partly they which were taken and holden with 

contagious diseases, such as be wont by infection to creep from 

one to another, might be laid apart far from the company of 

the residue. These hospitals be so well appointed, and with 

all things necessary to health so furnished, and moreover so 

diligent attendance through the continual presence of cunning 

physicians is given, that though no man be sent thither against 

his will, yet notwithstanding there is no sick person in all the 

city that had not rather lie there than at home in his own house. 

All meals are When the Steward of the sick has received such meats as 

provided free ^j^^ physicians have prescribed, then the best is equally di- 
et expense to '^ ^ ^ 

all in Utopia vided among the halls, according to the -company of every one, 
saving that there is had a respect to the prince, the bishop, 
the tranibores, and to ambassadors and all strangers, if there 
be any, which be very few and seldom. But they also, when 
they be there, have certain several houses appointed and pre- 
pared for them. To these halls at the set hours of dinner and 
supper cometh all the whole syphogranty or ward, warned by 
the noise of a brazen trumpet ; except such as be sick in the 
hospitals, or else in their own houses. Howbeit no man is pro- 
hibited or forbid, after the halls be served, to fetch home meat " 
out of the market to his own house, for they know that no 
man will do it without a cause reasonable. For though no man 
be prohibited to dine at home, yet no man doth it willingly : 
because it is counted a point of small honesty. And also it 
were a folly to take the pain to dress a bad dinner at home, 
when they may be welcome to good and fine fare so nigh hand 
at the hall. 

In this hall all vile service, all slavery and drudgery, with 
all laborsome toil and base business, is done by bondmen.,. 
But the women of every family by course have the office and^ 
charge of cookery for seething and dressing the meat, an^^ 
ordering all things thereto belonging. They sit at three table 
or more, according to the number of their company. The 



Drudgery, 
cookery, and 
meals 



/ 



The Early Tudor Period 321 

men sit upon the bench next the wall, and the women oppo- 
site them on the other side of the table, that if any sudden 
^aintness should come upon one of them, as many times hap- 
pens to women, they may rise without trouble or disturbance 
A anybody, and go thence into the nursery. The nurses sit 
several apart with their young sucklings in a certain parlor 
appointed and deputed to the same purpose, never without 
fire and clean water, nor yet without cradles, that when they 
»vill they may lay down the young infants, and at their pleasure 
take them out of their swathing clothes, and hold them to the 
fire and refresh them with play. Every mother is nurse to 
her own child, unless either death or sickness be the let. 
When that chanceth, the wives of the syphogrants quickly pro- 
v^ide a nurse. And that is not hard to be done. For they that 
can do it, proffer themselves to no service so gladly as to that. 
Because that there this kind of pity is much praised : and the 
hild that is nourished, ever after taketh his nurse for his own 
latural mother. 

Also among the nurses sit all the children that be under the Children are 
age of five years. All the other children of both kinds, as well seen and not 

1 -111 I- • 1-1 heard in 

boys as girls, that be under the age of marriage, do either Utopia 
serve at the tables, or else, if they be too young thereto, yet 
they stand by with marvelous silence. That which is given to 
them from the table they eat, and other separate dinner time 
they have none. The syphogrant and his wife sit i© the midst 
of the high table, forasmuch as that is counted the honorablest 
place, and because from thence all of the whole company is in 
their sight. For that table standeth overthwart the over end 
of the hall. To them be joined two of the ancientest and 
eldest. For at every table they sit four at a mess. But if there 
be a church standing in that syphogranty or ward, then the 
priest and his wife sitteth with the syphogrant as chief in the 
company. On both sides of them sit young men, and next 

into them again old men, and thus throughout all the house 

^qual of age be set together, and yet be mixed and matched 

f I'th unequal of ages. 

■if This, they say, was ordained, to the intent that the sage Oversight of 

ravity and reverence of the elders should keep the younger *^^'^ manners 



322 Readings in English History 

from wanton license of words and behavior ; forasmuch as 
nothing can be so secretly spoken or done at the table, but 
either they that sit on the one side or on the other must needs 
perceive it. The dishes be not set down in order from the first 
place, but all the old men (whose places be marked with some 
special token to be known) be first served of their meat, and 
then the residue equally. The old men divide their dainties, 
as they think best, to the younger on each side of them. . . . 
The low vaiu- Howbeit, a wise and indifferent esteemer of things will not 
ation the greatly marvel, perchance, seeing all their other laws and cus- 

Utopians 1 ^1- 1 

place on gold toms do SO much diner from ours, if the use also of gold and 
silver among them be applied rather to their own fashions 
than to ours. I mean, in that they occupy not money them- 
selves, but keep it for that occasion, which as it may happen, 
so it may be that it shall never come to pass. In the meantime 
gold and silver, whereof money is made, they do use as none 
of them doth more esteem it than the very nature of the thing 
deserveth. And then who doth not plainly see how far it is 
under iron : as without the which men can no better live than 
without fire and water. Whereas to gold and silver nature 
hath given no use, that we may not well lack ; if that the folly 
of men had not set it in higher estimation for the rareness sake. 
But of the contrary part, nature as a most tender and loving 
mother hath placed the best and most necessary things open 
abroad, as the air, the water, and the earth itself ; and hath re- 
moved and hid farthest from us vain and unprofitable things. 

They have found out a means, which, as it is agreeable to 
all their other laws and customs, so it is from ours, where gold 
is so much set by and so diligently kept, very far discrepant 
and repugnant ; and therefore incredible, but only to them 
that be wise. For whereas they eat and drink in earthen and 
glass vessels, which indeed be curiously and properly made, 
and yet be of very small value ; of gold and silver they make 
commonly vessels that serve for most vile uses, not only in 
their common halls, but in every man's private house. Further- 
more of the same metals they make great chains, fetters, and 
gyves wherein they tie their bondmen. Finally, whosoever for 
any offense be disgraced, by their ears hang rings of gold, upon 



TJie Early Tudor Period 323 

their fingers they wear rings of gold, and about their necks 
chains of gold, and in conclusion their heads be tied about 
with gold. Thus, by all means possible they procure to have 
gold and silver among them in reproach and infamy. And 
these metals, which other nations do as grievously and sorrow- 
fully forego, as in a manner their own lives ; if they should 
altogether at once be taken from the Utopians, no man there 
would think that he had lost the worth of one farthing. 

They gather also pearls by the seaside, and diamonds and Precious 
carbuncles upon certain rocks, and yet they seek not for them ; stones are 
but by chance finding them, they cut and polish them. And f^r children 
therewith they deck their young infants. Which, like as in the 
first years of their childhood, they make much and be proud 
of such ornaments, so when they be a little more grown in 
years and discretion, perceiving that none but children do 
wear such toys and trifles, they lay them away even of their 
own shamefacedness, without any bidding of their parents : 
even as our children, when they wax big, do cast away nuts, 
brooches, and puppets. Therefore these laws and customs, 
which be so far different from all other nations, how divers 
fantasies also and minds they do cause, did I never so plainly 
perceive, as in the ambassadors of the Anemolians. 

These ambassadors came to Amaurote whiles I was there. 
And because they came to entreat of great and weighty 
matters, three citizens apiece out of every city were come 
thither before them. But all the ambassadors of the next 
countries, which had been there before, and knew the fashions 
and manners of the Utopians, among whom they perceived no 
honor given to sumptuous apparel, silks to be contemned, gold 
also to be infamed and reproachful, were wont to come thither 
in very homely and simple array. But the Anemolians, be- 
cause they dwelt far thence and had very little acquaintance 
with them, hearing that they were all appareled alike, and that 
very rudely and homely; thinking them not to have the things 
which they did not wear ; being therefore more proud than 
wise ; determined in the gorgeousness of their apparel to repre- 
sent very gods, and with the bright shining and glistering of 
their gay clothing to dazzle the eyes of the silly poor Utopians. 



324 Readings in English History 

More's sar- So there came in three ambassadors with one hundred serv- 

casm on the ants, all appareled in changeable colors ; the most of them 
dressing of ''^ ^^^^^ > ^^^ ambassadors themselves (for at home in their own 
the European country they were noblemen) in cloth of gold, with great chains 
^rh-^^t-^'^°'^ of gold, with gold hanging at their_ ears, with gold rings upon 
their fingers, with brooches and aglets of gold upon their caps, 
which glistered full of pearls and precious stones : to be short, 
trimmed and adorned with all those things, which among the 
Utopians were either the punishment of bondmen, or the re- 
proach of infamed persons, or else trifles for young children 
to play withal. 

Therefore it would have done a man good at his heart to 
have seen how proudly they displayed their peacock's feathers, 
how much they made of their painted sheaths, and how loftily 
they set forth and advanced themselves, when they compared 
their gallant apparel with the poor raiment of the Utopians. 
For all the people were swarmed forth into the streets. And 
on the other side it was no less pleasure to consider how much 
they were deceived, and how far they missed of their purpose, 
being contrariwise taken than they thought they should have 
been. For to the eyes of all the Utopians, except very few, 
which had been in other countries for some reasonable cause, 
all that gorgeousness of apparel seemed shameful and reproach- 
ful. Insomuch that they most reverently saluted the vilest and 
most abject of them for lords ; passing over the ambassadors 
themselves without any honor ; judging them by their wearing 
of golden chains to be bondmen. 

Yea, you should have seen children, also, that had cast away 
their pearls and precious stones, when they saw the like stick- 
ing upon the ambassadors' caps, dig and push their mothers 
under the sides, saying thus to them : Look, mother, how great 
a lubber doth yet wear pearls and precious stones, as though 
he were a little child. But the mother, yea, and that also in 
good earnest ; peace, son, saith she ; I think he be some of 
the ambassadors' fools. Some found fault at their golden 
chains, as to no use or purpose, being so small and weak that 
a bondman might easily break them, and again so wide and 
large, that when it pleased him, he might cast them off, and 



The Early Tudor Period 325 

run away at liberty whither he would. But when the ambas- 
sadors had been there a day or two and saw so great abun- 
dance of gold so lightly esteemed, yea, in no less reproach 
than it was with them in honor : and besides that, more gold 
in the chains and gyves of one fugitive bondman than all the 
costly ornaments of them three was worth, they began to 
abate their courage, and for very shame laid away all that 
gorgeous array, whereof they were so proud. And specially 
when they had talked familiarly with the Utopians, and had 
learned all their fashions and opinions. . . . 

They detest war as a very brutal thing. ... As soon as they Machia- 
declare war, they take care to have a great many schedules, veiiian policy 
that are sealed with their common seal, afifixed in the most con- 
spicuous places of their enemies' country. This is carried on 
secretly, and done in many places all at once. In these they 
promise great rewards to such as shall kill the ruler, and lesser 
in proportion to such as shall kill any other persons, who are 
those in whom, next to the ruler himself, they cast the chief 
balance of the war. . . . They think it an act of mercy and 
love to mankind to prevent the great slaughter of those that 
must otherwise be killed in the progress of the war, both on 
their own side and on that of their enemies, by the death of 
a few that are most guilty. 

If any man aspires to an ofifice he is sure never to gain it. 
. . . They have but few laws, and such is their constitution that 
they need not many. . . . 

They have no lawyers among them, for they consider them 
as a sort of people whose profession is to disguise matters and 
to wrest the laws. . . . 

This is one of their most ancient laws, that no man ought 
to be punished for his religion. 

They do not wear themselves out with perpetual toil from a six-hour 
morning to night, as if they were beasts of burden, which, as it workday m 
is indeed a heavy slavery, so it is everywhere the common 
course of life amongst all mechanics, except the Utopians ; 
but they, dividing the day and night into twenty-four hours, 
appoint six of these for work, three of which are before dinner 
and three after. . . . 



326 Readings in English History 

Thus have I described to you, as particularly as I could, the 
constitution of that commonwealth, which I do not only think 
the best in the world, but indeed the only commonwealth that 
truly deserves the name. . . . 

Is not the government both unjust and ungrateful that is 
so prodigal of its favors to those that are called gentlemen, or 
goldsmiths, or such others who are idle, or live by flattery, or 
by contriving the arts of vain pleasures, and on the other hand 
takes no care of those of a meaner sort, such as plowmen, 
colliers, and smiths, without whom it could not subsist? But 
after the public has reaped all the advantage of their service, 
and they come to be oppressed with age, sickness, and want, 
all their labors and the good they have done is forgotten : and 
all the recompense given them is that they are left to die in 
great misery. . . . Therefore, I must say that, as I hope for 
mercy, I can have no other notion of all the governments that 
I see or know than that they are a conspiracy of the rich. . . . 

The following passage is taken from a work somewhat 
similar to Utopia. It pretends to be a dialogue between 
Cardinal Pole, who was then considered to be a re- 
former, and Thomas Lupset, a professor at Oxford, and 
was written in English by Thomas Starkey about 1538. 
The portion here given refers to a subject much dis- 
cussed at the time, whether the Bible and church service 
should be in the language of the people or not. 

193. Extracts Pole : But now, thys set aparte, Master Lupset, let us go 
from a fie- forth and serch out other yl custumys, yf we remember any, 

titious Dia- , . . 1 , • 11,1 1 

logue here in our cuntre. And herin me thynkyth hyt ys an yl cus- 

betzL'een tume in our church usvd, that dyvvne servyce ys sayed and 

Lupset and , , •' ' ■' ' , r , i 

Pole song aitur such maner as hyt ys commynly ; as lyrst, that hyt 

ys openly rehersyd in a straunge tonge, no thyng of the pepul 
understond ; by the reson wherof , the pepul takyth not that truth 
that they myght and ought to receyve, yf hyt were rehersyd in 
our vulgare tong. Second, touchyng the syngyng therof, they 
use a fascyon more convenyent to mynstrellys then to devoute 



TJie Early Tudor Period 327 

mynystyrys of the dyvyne servyce ; for playnly, as hyt ys usyd, 
thys ys truthe, specyally consyderyng the wordys be so straunge 
and so dyversely descentyd, hyt ys more to the utward pleasure 
of the yere and vayn recreatyon, then to the inward comfort 
of the hart and mynd with gud devotyon. How say you, Master 
Lupset, ys hyt not thys as I dow say? 

Lupset : Sir, in thys mater somewhat I marvayle what you 
mean ; for you seme to alow, by your communycatyon, the 
Lutheranys maner, whome I understond to have chaunged thys 
fascyon long usyd in the church. They have theyr servyce, 
such as hyt ys, al in theyr vulgare tong openly rehersyd. I 
wold not that we schold folow theyr steppys. They are yl 
masturys to be folowyd in gud pollycy. But, me thynk, by thys 
maner, you wold also have the Gospel and al the sprytual law 
put into our tong; and so by that mean you schold see as 
many errorys among us here in Englond as be now in Almayn 
among the Lutheranys, in schort space. Wherfor, Master Pole, 
I thynke hyt ys bettur to kepe our old fascyon both in our 
dyvyne servyce and in kepyng the law in a straunge tonge, 
then by such new maner to bryng in among us any dyversyte 
of sectys in relygyon. 

Pole : Master Lupset, I se wel in thys you wyl not be so 
sone persuadyd, as in other thyngys before you were. You 
are, me semyth, aferd lest we schold folow the steppys of thes 
Lutheranys, wych are fallen into many errorys and gret confu- 
syon by thys mean, as you thynke, and new alteratyon. But 
here. Master Lupset, fyrst you schal be sure of thys. I wyl not 
folow the steppys of Luther, whose judgment I estyme veray 
lytyl ; and yet he and hys dyscypullys be not so wykkyd and 
folysch that in al thyngs they erre. Heretykys be not in al 
thynygs heretykys. Wherfor I will not so abhorre theyr heresye 
that for the hate therof I wyl fly from the truth. I alow thys 
maner of saying of servyce, not bycause they say and affyrme 
hyt to be gud and laudabul, but bycause the truth ys so, as yt 
apperyth to me, and the fruit therof so manyfest ; wych you 
schal also confesse, I thynk, yf you wyl consydur indifferently 
the mater a lytyl with me. And fyrst thys is certaun and sure 
— that the dyvyne servyce was ordeynyd to be sayed in the 



328 Readings in English History 

church for the edyfying of the pepul, that they, heryng the 
wordys of the Gospel and the exampuUys of holy sayntys, 
professorys of Chrystys name and doctryne, myght therby 
be sterryd and movyd to folow theyr steppys, and be put in 
remembrance therby of the lyvyng and doctryne of our master 
Chryst, hys apostyllys and dyscypullys, as the chefe thyng of 
al other to be pryntyd and gravyd in al gud and Chrystyan 
hartys. Wherfor, yf thys be true, as I thynke you can not 
deny, thys folowyth of necessyte — that we must other have 
the dyvyne serA^se to be sayd in our owne tong commynly, 
or els to provuyd some mean that al the pepul may under- 
stond the Latin convenyently ; wych I thynke surely was the 
purpos of the Romaynys, when they did fyrst instytute al 
dyvyne servyse to be rehersyd in that tong, even lyke as hyt 
was of the Normannys at such tyme when they ordeynyd al 
our commyn laws in the French tong to be tought and dis- 
putyd. But now. Master Lupset, seeyng that thys ys not con- 
venyent and skant possybul as the state stondyth, I thynke 
hyt ys bothe necessary and expedyent to have rehersyd thys 
dyvyne servyse in our owne vulgare tong ; yee, and also touch- 
yng the Gospel, to have hyt holly in our tong to be convertyd, 
I thynk of al most expedyent and necessary. 

The difficulties Caxton met with from the still unset- 
tled form of the English language are well shown in the 
following introduction from the ^ncid, or Encydos, as 
he spelled it, which he printed in 1490. His work, how- 
ever, did much to set standards for the use of English, 
for between his arrival in England in 1476 and his death 
in 1 49 1 he printed some eighty books, several of them 
in more than one edition. 

194. Caxton's After dyverse werkes made, translated, and achieved, havyng 
prologue to j-,qq werke in hande, I, sittyng in my studye, where laye many 
lation of dyverse paunflettis and bookys, happened that to my hande 
Virgil's came a Ivtyl booke in frenshe, whiche late was translated out of 

^neid latyn by some noble clerke of fraunce, whiche book is named 



TJie Early Tudor Period 329 

Eneydos, made in latyn by that noble poete and grete clerke 
vyrgyle, whiche booke I sawe over and redde therein. How, 
after the generall destruccyon of the grete Troye, Eneas de- 
parted, berynge his olde fader anchises upon his sholdres, his 
lityl son yolus on his honde, his wyfe wyth moche other people 
folowynge and how he shypped and departed, wyth alle the 
storye of his adventures that he had er he cam to the achieve- 
ment of his conquest of ytalye, as all a longe shall be shewed in 
this present boke. In whiche booke I had grete playsyr, by 
cause of the fayr and honest termes and wordes in frenshe 
whyche I never sawe to-fore lyke, ne none so playsaunt ne so 
wel ordred ; whiche booke, as me semed, sholde be moche 
requysyte to noble men to see, as wel for the eloquence as 
the historyes ; how wel that many honderd yerys passed was 
the sayd booke of eneydos, wyth other werkes, made and 
lerned dayly in scolis, specyally in ytalye and other places, 
whiche historye the sayd vyrgyle made in metre. And whan I 
had advysed me in this sayd boke, I delybered and concluded 
to translate it in-to englysshe. And forthwyth toke a penne & 
ynke, and wrote a leef or tweyne whyche I oversawe agayn to 
corecte it. And whan I sawe the fayr and straunge termes 
therin I doubted that it sholde not please some gentylmen 
which late blamed me, sayeng, that in my translacyons I had 
over curyous terms, whiche coude not be understande of 
comyn peple, and desired me to use old and homely termes in 
my translacyons. And fayn wolde I satisfye every man ; and 
so to doo, toke an olde boke and redde therin ; and certaynly 
the englysshe was so rude and broad that I coude not wele un- 
derstande it. And also my lorde abbot of westmynster ded do 
shew to me late certayn evydences wryten in olde englysshe, for Anglo-Saxon 
to reduce it into our englysshe now usid. And certaynly it was charters 
wreton in suche wyse that it was more lyke to Dutch than eng- 
lysshe ; I coude not reduce ne brynge it to be understonden. 

And certaynly, our language now used varyeth very ferre from 
that which was used and spoken when I was borne. For we 
englysshemen ben borne under the domynacion of the mone, 
which is never stedfaste, but ever waverynge, wexynge one sea- 
son, and waneth and dyscreaseth another season. And that 



330 Readings in English History 

comyn englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth from an- 
other. In so moche that in my dayes happened that certayn 
merchauntes were in a ship in the Thames, for to have sayled 
over the see into Zealand, and for lacke of wynde they taryed 
atte Foreland, and wente to lande for to refreshe them. And 
one of them named Sheffelde, a mercer, came into an hows and 
axed for mete, and specyally he axyd after eggys ; and the good 
wyf answerede that she coude speke no frenshe. And the mar- 
chaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde 
have hadde egges ; and she understode hym not. And thenne 
at laste another sayd that he wolde have eyren ; then the good 
wyf sayd that she understod hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man 
in thyse dayes now wryte, egges or eyren ? Certaynly, it is hard 
to playse every man, by cause of dyversite and chaunge of Ian- 
gage. For in these days, every man that is in any reputacyon in 
his countre will utter his commynycacyon and maters in such 
maners and termes that fewe men shall understonde them. And 
some honest and grete clerkes have ben wyth me, and desyred 
Caxton I'ne to wryte the most curyous termes that I coude fynd. And 

prefers to use thus between playn, rude, and curyous, I stand abasshed ; but 
he\ears^verv '^^ ^^ judgemente, the comyn termes that be dayli used ben 
day lyghter to be understonde than the old and auncyent englysshe. 



II. Henry VIII 

The brilliant, well-educated, ambitious, and popular 
young king, Henry VIII, as we see him in the narratives 
written during the early part of his reign, is described 
in the following letter from the Venetian ambassador 
Giustiniani, dated September lo, 15 19. 

195. The His Majesty is about twenty-nine years of age, as handsome 

Venetian ^ ^g mature could form him, above any other Christian prince ; 
impression of handsomer by far than the king of France. He is exceeding 
Henry VIII fair ; and as well proportioned in every part as is possible, 
in 1519 When he learned that the king of France wore a beard, he 

allowed his also to grow, which, being somewhat red, has at 



TJie Early Tudor Period 3 3 i 

present the appearance of being of gold. He is an excellent 
musician and composer, an admirable horseman and wrestler. 
He possesses a good knowledge of the French, Latin, and 
Spanish languages ; and is very devout. On the days on which 
he goes to the chase he hears mass three times, but on other 
days he goes as often as five times. He has every day service 
in the queen's chamber at vespers and compline. He is un- 
commonly fond of the chase, and never indulges in this diver- 
sion without tiring eight or ten horses. These he has stationed 
at the different places where he purposes to stop. When one 
is fatigued, he mounts another, and by the time he returns 
home they have all been used. He takes great delight in 
bowling, and it is the pleasantest sight in the world to see him 
engaged in this exercise, with his fair skin covered with a 
beautifully fine shirt. He plays with the hostages of France, 
and it is said that they risk from six to eight thousand 
ducats in a day. Affable and benign, he offends no one. He 
has often said to the ambassador, he wished that every one 
was content with his condition. " We are content with our 
island." He is very desirous of preserving peace ; and possesses 
great wealth. 

A contemporary judgment of Henry's character is 
given by one who had every opportunity to know him, 
Sir Thomas More, in the following extracts from Roper's 
Life of More. 

And for the pleasure the king took in his [More's] com- 196. Anec- 

pany, would his Grace suddenly sometimes come home to his '^°*®^ *^°'^" 
1 /^i 1 1 • 1 1 • 11 • cerning the 

house at Chelsea to be merry with hmi, whither on a time un- jjjng ^nd sir 

looked for he came to dinner, and after dinner, in a fair garden Thomas More 
of his, walked with him by the space of an hour, holding his 
arm about his neck. As soon as his Grace was gone, I, rejoic- 
ing, told Sir Thomas More how happy he was whom the king 
had so familiarly entertained, as I had never seen him do to 
any before, except Cardinal Wolsey, whom I saw his Grace 
once walk with, arm in arm. " I thank our Lord, son," quoth 
he, " I find his Grace my very good lord, indeed, and I do 



332 Readings in English History 

believe he doth as singularly favor me as any subject within 
this realm. Howbeit I may tell thee, I have no cause to be 
proud thereof. For if my head would win him a castle in 
France (for then there was war between us), it should jiot 
fail to go. . . . 

On a time, walking along the Thames' side with me, at 
Chelsea, in talking of other things, he said to me : " Now 
would to God, son Roper, upon condition three things were 
well established in Christendom, I were put in a sack and here 
presently cast into the Thames." " What great things be these, 
sir," quoth I, " that should move you so to wish? " " I' faith, 
they be these, son," quoth he. " The first is, that whereas the 
most part of Christian princes be at mortal wars, they were at 
universal peace. The second, that where the church of Christ 
is at this present, sore afflicted with many heresies and errors, 
it were well settled in an uniformity of religion. The third, 
that where the king's matter of his marriage is now come into 
question, it were to the glory of God and quietness of all parties, 
brought to a good conclusion." 

Now upon his resignment of his office came Thomas Crom- 
well, then in the king's high favor, to Chelsea, to him on a 
message from the king, wherein, when they had thoroughly 
communed together, "Mr. Cromwell," quoth he, "you are 
now entered into the service of a most noble, wise, and liberal 
prince ; if you will follow my poor advice, you shall, in counsel- 
giving unto his Grace, ever tell him what he ought to do, but 
never tell him what he is able to do. So shall you show your- 
self a true faithful servant, and a right worthy councilor. 
For if the lion knew his own strength, hard were it for any 
man to rule him." 

The following letter, written by one of the king's sec- 
retaries to Cardinal Wolsey, refers to Luther's treatise 
Oh the Babylonian Captivity of the CJinrch. Henry was 
already at work on a refutation of Luther's teachings, 
which he completed in August, 1521, and called A De- 
fense of the Seven Sacraments . As a recognition of this 



The Early Tudor Period 333 

work, the pope, on October 11, 1521, conferred upon the 
king the honorary title, " Defender of the Faith," corre- 
sponding to the title "Most Christian," borne by the king 
of France, and to that of "Catholic," used by the king 
of Spain. 

Pleas itt your Grace, at myne arivall to the Kynge this 197. Richard 

raornynge, I founde hvm lokynge uppon a boke of Luthers, Pace to 

, , . , , ' , . in- Cardinal 

and hys Cjrace schewde unto me that it was a newe werke ort woisey 

the sayde Luthers. I lokydde uppon the title theroff and per- (April, 1521) 

ceived bi the same that itt is the same Boke put into prynte, 

whyche your Grace sende unto hym by me wretyn. And upon 

such disprayse as Hys Grace dydde yeve unto the sayde boke 

I delivrydde the Popis Bulle and hys Bryffe broght in my The papal 

charge opportune, and with the whyche the Kynge was well ^"'^ '^°"' , 

^ ^ ^ •' , . demning the 

contentidde : here at length schewynge unto me that it was teachings of- 
verraye joyose to have thys tydyngis from the Popis Holynesse Luther, issued 
at suche tyme as he had takyn upon hym the defynce off '" ^^20 
Christis Churche wyth his penne, affore the recepte of the 
sayde tydyngis ; and that he wuU make an ende off hys boke 
wythin thiese . . . and desyrynge your Grace to provide that 
wythinne the same space all suche as be appoyntide to examine 
Luther's boks maye be congregated to gedre ffor hys Hynesse 
percevynge : and bi suche thyngis and I declarydde unto hym 
be the Popis bryffe that thys matier requirithe hasty expedi- 
cion, wull take the more payne for to make an ende therin 
the soner, and is condescendydde and agreable to every 
thynge desyrydde by your Grace ; That is to saye to wryte hys 
lettres to th' Emperor and the Princes Electors, and to sende 
also suche a person with the same as schal be seen most meate 
for that purpose ; and to sende hys Boke not oonly to Rome, 
but also into Fraunce and othre«nacions as schall appere con- 
venient. So that all the Churche is more bounde to thys 
goodde and vertuxe Prince for the vehement zele he berith 
unto the same, than I can expresse. 

The prominence of Cardinal Wolsey, and at the same 
time the jealousy and hatred felt for him by the nobles 



334 Readings in English History 

and by other courtiers, are well shown in a ranting, 
abusive poem by the contemporary poet John Skelton. 
It is called Why come ye not to Court ? The answer to 
the question is to be found, according to Skelton, in the 
arrogance and overwhelming influence of the lowborn 
cardinal. Skelton and most of his contemporaries were 
unable to appreciate the great abilities and far-reaching 
measures of the great minister. 



198. Why 
come ye not 
to Court? 



Wolsey sits 
as chancellor 
in the Star 
Chamber 



His cardinal's 
hat 



He is set so hye 

In his ierarchy 

Of frantycke frenesy 

And folysshe fantasy. 

That in the Chambre of Starres 

All maters there he marres ; 

Clappyng his rod on the borde, 

No man dare speke a' worde, 

For he hathe all the sayenge. 

Without any renayenge. 

Some say yes, and some 
Syt styll as they were dom : 
Thus thwartyng over thom. 
He ruleth all the roste 
With braggynge and with bost. 

Whyles the red hat doth endure, 
He maketh himselfe cock sure ; 
The red hat with his luer 
Bryngeth all tljynges under cure. 

Our barons be so bolde. 
Into a mouse hole they wolde 
Rynne away and crepe ; 
Lyke a mayny of shepe, 
Dare not loke out at dur 



Tlie Early Tudor Period 



335 



For drede of the mastyve cur, 
For drede of the bocher's dogge 
Wold wyrry them lyke a hogge. 

For and this curre do gnar, 
They must stande all a far, 
To holde up their hande at the bar. 
For all their noble blode 
He pluckes them by the hode, 
And shakes them by the eare. 
And brynges them in suche feare ; 
He bayteth thim lyke a bere, 
Lyke an oxe or a bull : 
Theyr wyttes, he saith, are dull ; 
He sayth they have no brayne 
Theyr astate to mayntayne ; 
And maketh them to bow theyr kne 
Before his majeste. 

Juges of the kynges lawes. 
He countys them foles and dawes ; 
Sergyantes of the coyfe eke. 
He sayth they are to seke 
In pledynge of theyr case 
At the Commune Place, 
Or at the Kynges Benche ; 
He wryngeth them suche a wrenche, 
That all our lerned men 
Dare nat set theyr penne 
To plete a trew tryall 
Within Westmynster hall. 



Wolsey said 
to be son of 
a butcher of 
Ipswich 



He dictates to 
the judges of 
Common 
Pleas and 
King's Bench 



Why come ye not to court? 
To whyche court? 
To the kynges court, 
Or to Hampton Court? — 
Nay, to the kynges courte : 
The kynges courte 
Shulde haue the excellence ; 
But Hampton Court 



Wolsey's two 
London 
palaces are 
more visited 
than the 
king's court 



336 Readings in English History 

Hath the preemyence, 
And Yorkes Place, 
With my lorde's grace, 
To whose magnifycence 
Is all the conflewence, 
Sutys and supplycacyons 
Embassades of all nacyons. 
Strawe for lawe canon. 
Or for the lawe common, 
Or for lawe cyvyll ! 
It shall be as he wyll. 



III. The Early Stages of the Reformation 

1 

The following love letter, written from Henry to Anne 
Boleyn in May, 1528, may serve to introduce the period 
of his life when his dispute with the pope about the 
grant of a divorce transformed the king from an opponent 
of all forms of the Reformation to an influential advo- 
cate of many changes in the earlier organization of the 
English church. 

199. Henry My Mistress and Friend : 

VIII to Anne j ^^^ ,^^ heart put ourselves in your hands, begging you to 
recommend us to your favor, and not to let absence lessen 
your affection to us. For it were great pity to increase our 
pain, which absence alone does sufficiently, and more than I 
could ever have thought ; bringing to my mind a point of 
astronomy, which is, that the farther the Moors are from us, 
the farther too is the sun, and yet his heat is the more scorch- 
ing : so it is with our love ; we are at a distance from one 
another, and yet it keeps its' fervency, at least on my side. I 
hope the like on your part, assuring you that the uneasiness of 
absence is already too severe for me ; and when I think of the 
continuance of that which I must of necessity suffer, it would 
seem intolerable to me, were it not for the firm hope I have 
of your unchangeable affection for me ; and now, to put you 



The Early Tudor Period 337 

sometimes in mind of it, and seeing I cannot be present in 
person with you, I send you tiie nearest thing to that possible, 
that is, my picture set in bracelets, with the whole device, 
which you know already, wishing myself in their place, when 
it shall please you. 

This from the hand of 

Your servant and friend, 

H., Rex. 

The court appointed by the pope to examine Henry's 
claim that his marriage with Catherine had not been 
lawful, met in London in June, 1529, but no result was 
reached. The following account is by the chronicler Hall. 

The court being thus furnished and ordered, the judges 200. Sitting 

commanded the crier to proclaim silence ; then was the °* Cardinals 

judges' commission, which they had of the pope, published campeggio 

and read openly before all the audience there assembled, as a court to 

That done, the crier called the king, by the name of " King investigate 

' , , , ,, ,,r. , , , ^ the marriage 

Henry of England, come mto the court, etc. With that the of Henry and 

king answered and said, " Here, my lords ! " Then he called Catherine 
also the queen, by the name of " Catherine Queen of England, 
come into the court," etc. ; who made no answer to the same, 
but rose up incontinent out of her chair, where as she sat, and 
because she could not come directly to the king for the dis- 
tance which severed them, she took pain to go about unto the 
king, kneeling down at his feet in the sight of all the court 
and assembly, to whom she said in effect, in broken English, 
as followeth : 

" Sir," quoth she, " I beseech you for all the loves that hath The queen's 
been between us, and for the love of God, let me have justice f'pp^^^' *« "^^e 
and right; take of me some pity and compassion, for I am a 
poor woman and a stranger born out of your dominion ; I have 
here no assured friend, and much less impartial counsel ; I 
flee to you as to the head of justice within this realm. Alas ! 
sir, wherein have I offended you, or what occasion of dis- 
pleasure have I designed against your will and pleasure, 
intending, as I perceive, to put me from you? I take God 



338 Readmgs in English History 

and all the world to witness, that I have been to you a true, 
humble, and obedient wife, ever conformable to your will and 
pleasure, that never said nor did anything to the contrary 
thereof, being always well pleased and contented with all 
things wherein you had any delight or dalliance, whether it 
were in little or much, I never grudged in word or countenance, 
or showed a visage or spark of discontentation. I loved all 
those whom ye loved only for your sake, whether I had cause 
or no ; and whether they were my friends or my enemies. 

This twenty years I have been your true wife or more, and 
by me ye have had divers children, although it hath pleased 
God to call them out of this world, which hath been no default 
in me. And when ye had me at the first, I take God to be my 
judge, I was a true maid, without touch of man ; and whether 
this be true or no, I put it to your conscience. If there be any 
just cause by the law that ye can allege against me, either of 
dishonesty or any other impediment, to banish and put me 
from you, I am well content to depart to my great shame and 
dishonor; and if there be none, then here I most lowly 
beseech you let me remain in my former estate, and receive 
justice at your hands. The king, your father, who was in the 
time of his reign of such estimation through the world for his 
excellent wisdom that he was accounted and called of all men 
the second Solomon ; and my father Ferdinand, king of Spain, 
who was esteemed to be one of the wittiest princes that 
reigned in Spain, many years before, were both wise and 
excellent kings in wisdom and princely behavior. It is not 
therefore to be doubted but that they elected and gathered as 
wise counselors about them as to their high discretions was 
thought meet. Also, as me seemeth, there was in those days 
as wise, as well learned men, and men of as good judgment as 
be at this present in both realms, who thought then the mar- 
riage between you and me good and lawful. 

Therefore it is a wonder to hear what new inventions are 
now invented against me, that never intended but honesty, 
and cause me to stand to the order and judgment of this new 
court, wherein ye may do me much wrong, if ye intend any 
cruelty ; for ye may condemn me for lack of sufficient answer, 



TJie Early Tudor Period 339 

having no indifferent counsel, but such as be assigned me, 
with whose wisdom and learning I am not acquainted. Ye 
must consider that they cannot be indifferent counselors for 
my part which be your subjects, and taken out of your own 
council before, wherein they be made privy, and dare not, for 
your displeasure, disobey your will and intent, being once 
made privy thereto. Therefore I most humbly require you, in 
the way of charity, and for the love of God, who is the just 
judge, to spare me the extremity of this new court, until I 
may be advertised what way and order my friends in Spain 
will advise me to take. And if ye will not extend to me so 
much indifferent favor, your pleasure then be fulfilled, and to 
God I commit my cause ! " 

And with that she rose up, making a low courtesy to the 
king, and so departed from thence. Many supposed that she 
would have resorted again to her former place ; but she took 
her way straight out of the house, leaning (as she was wont 
always to do) upon the arm of her general receiver, called 
Master Griffith. And the king being advertised of her depar- 
ture, commanded the crier to call her again, who called her by 
the name of " Catherine Queen of England, come into the 
court," etc. With that quoth Master Griffith, " Madam, ye be 
called again." " On, on," quotk she ; " it maketh no matter, 
for it is no impartial court for me, therefore I will not tarry. 
Go on your ways." And thus she departed out of that court, 
without any farther answer at that time, or at any other, nor 
would never appear at any other court after. 

The king perceiving that she was departed in such sort, The king's 
calling to his grace's memory all her lament words that she testimony to 
had pronounced before him and all the audience, said thus in nobility of 
effect. " Forasmuch," quoth he, " as the queen is gone, I will, birth and 
in her absence, declare unto you all, my lords here presently character 
assembled, she hath been to me as true, as obedient, and as 
conformable a wife as I could in my fantasy wish or desire. 
She hath all the virtuous qualities that ought to be in a woman 
of her dignity, or in any other of baser estate. Surely she is 
also a noble woman born, if nothing were in her, but only her 
conditions will well declare the same." 



340 Readings in Etiglish History 

In 1532 and the years immediately following, convo- 
cation and parliament showed themselves either sym- 
pathetic with or submissive to the king in his opposition 
to the pope, and a series of laws were passed and proc- 
lamations issued which strengthened the position of the 
king in England and completed the separation of the 
English church from the Roman Catholic church. Ex- 
tracts from the four most important of these acts are 
here given. The first is the act passed by the clergy of 
England in their convocation in 1532, usually known as 
The Submission of the Clergy. 

201. The Sub- We your most huriible servants, daily orators and bedesmen 
mission of ^^ ^^^ clergy of England, having our special trust and confi- 
the Clergy •' . »-' . ^^ . ■ a • i j 

(1532) dence m your most excellent wisdom, your princely goodness, 

and fervent zeal to the promotion of God's honor and Chris- 
tian religion, and also in your learning, far exceeding, in our 
judgment, the learning of all other kings and princes that we 
have read of, and doubting nothing but that the same shall 
still continue and daily increase in your majesty — 
First, the First, do offer and promise^ on our priestly word, here unto 

clergy will not yQ^r highness, submitting ourselves most humbly to the same, 

meet in con- , .„ ^ , ^ , . ■' , 

vocation and that we Will never Irom hencetorth enact, put m use, promulge, 
will not pass or execute any new canons or constitutions provincial, or any 
any new other new ordinance, provincial or synodal, in our convoca- 

canons with- ' ^ -' ' 

out the king's tion or synod in time coming, which convocation is, always has 
consent been, and must be, assembled only by your highness' com- 

mandment of writ, unless your highness by your royal assent 
shall license us to assemble our convocation, and to make, 
promulge, and execute such constitutions and ordinances as 
shall be made in the same ; and thereto give your royal assent 
and authority. 

Secondly, that whereas divers of the constitutions, ordi- 
nances, and canons, provincial or synodal, which have been 
heretofore enacted, be thought to be not only much preju- 
dicial to your prerogative royal, but also overmuch onerous to 



The Early Tudor Period 341 

your highness' subjects, your clergy aforesaid is contented, if Secondly, the 
it may stand so with your highness' pleasure, that they be com- "^'^"^sy ap- 
mitted to the examination and judgment of your grace, and of revision of all 
thirty-two persons, whereof sixteen to be of the upper and the existing 
nether house of the temporalty, and the other sixteen of the ^^^^^^ L^the 
clergy, all to be chosen and appointed by your most noble king and a 
grace. So that, finally, whichsoever of the said constitutions, royal com- 
ordinances, or canons, provincial or synodal, shall be thought 
and determined by your grace and by the most part of the 
said thirty-two persons not to stand with God's laws and the 
laws of the realm, the same to be abrogated and taken away 
by your grace and the clergy ; and such of them as shall be 
seen by your grace, and by the most part of the said thirty- 
two persons, to stand with God's laws and the laws of your 
realm, to stand in full strength and power, your grace's most 
royal assent and authority once impetrate and fully given to 
the same. 

The first Act of Annates, cutting off the financial con- 
nection between the English church and the pope, was 
passed in the same year, 1532. 

Forasmuch as it is well perceived, by long-approved experi- 202. The Act 
ence, that great and inestimable sums of money have been 
daily conveyed out of this realm, to the impoverishment of 
the same ; and especially such sums of money as the pope's 
holiness, his predecessors, and the court of Rome, by long 
time have heretofore taken from all and singular those spiritual 
persons which have been named, elected, presented, or postu- 
lated to be archbishops or bishops within this realm of England, 
under the title of the annates, otherwise called first-fruits : . . . 

And albeit that our said sovereign the king, and all his 
natural subjects, as well spiritual as temporal, be as obedient, The payment 
devout, catholic, and humble children of God and holy °^ annates, or 

first-fruits, to 

church, as any people be withm any realm christened ; yet ^^^^ is 
the said exactions of annates, or first-fruits, be so intolerable intolerable 
and importable to this realm, that it is considered and declared 
by the whole body of this realm, now represented by all the 



of Annates 

(1532) 



342 



Readings in English History 



The payment 
of annates 
is therefore 
forbidden 



estates of the same assembled in this present parliament, that 
the king's highness before Almighty God is bound, as by the 
duty of a good Christian prince, for the conservation and 
preservation of the good estate and commonwealth of this his 
realm, to do all that in him is to obviate, repress, and redress 
the said abuses and exactions of annates, or first-fruits. , . . 

It is therefore ordained, established, and enacted, by author- 
ity of this present parliament, that the unlawful payments of 
annates, or first-fruits, and all manner of contributions for the 
same, for any archbishopric or bishopric, or for any bulls here- 
after to be obtained from the court of Rome to or for the 
aforesaid purpose and intent, shall from henceforth utterly 
cease, and no such hereafter to be paid for any archbishopric 
or bishopric within this realm, other or otherwise than here- 
after in this present act is declared. . . . 



203. The 
Statute of 
Appeals 
(1533) 



The king is 
clothed with 
sufficient 
power and 
the clergy 
with sufficient 
wisdom to 
settle all 
questions of 
ecclesiastical 
law 



The Statute of Appeals, passed in 1533, forbade ap- 
peals in church matters to any court outside of England. 

By divers sundry old authentic histories and chronicles 
it is manifestly declared and expressed that this realm of 
England is an empire, and so hath been accepted in the world, 
governed by one supreme head and king, having the dignity 
and royal estate of the imperial crown of the same, unto whom 
a body politic, compact of all sorts and degrees of people, 
divided in terms, and by names of spiritualty and temporalty, 
be bound, and ought to bear, next to God, a natural and 
humble obedience : he being also institute and furnished, by 
the goodness and sufferance of Almighty God, with plenary, 
whole, and entire power, preeminence, authority, prerogative, 
and jurisdiction, to render and yield justice, and final determi- 
nation to all manner of folk, residents or subjects within this 
his realm, in all causes, matters, debates, and contentions, 
happening to occur, insurge, or begin within the limits thereof, 
without restraint, or provocation to any foreign princes or 
potentates of the world. When any cause of the law divine, 
or of spiritual learning, happeneth to come in question, it hath 
been declared, interpreted, and showed by that part of the said 



The Early Tudor Period 343 

body politic called the spiritualty, now being usually called 
the English church, which always hath been reputed, and also 
found of that sort, that both for knowledge, integrity, and 
sufficiency of number, it hath been always thought, and is also 
at this hour, sufficient and meet of itself, without the inter- 
meddling of any exterior person or persons, to declare and 
determine all such doubts, and to administer all such offices 
and duties, as to their rooms spiritual doth appertain. . . . 

In consideration whereof the king's highness, with his nobles It is therefore 
and commons, considering the great enormities, dangers, long ^"a-c^^d that 
delays, and hurts, that as well to his highness as to his said ary, matrimo- 
nobles, subjects, commons, and residents of this his realm, niai, and 

r , • J J • similar cases 

m causes testamentary, causes of matrimony and divorce, shall be finally 
tithes, oblations and obventions, do daily ensue, does therefore decidedwithin 
by his royal assent, and by the assent of the lords spiritual and ^^^^ kingdom 
temporal, and the commons, in this present parliament assem- 
bled, and by authority of the same, enact, establish, and 
ordain, that all causes testamentary, causes of matrimony and 
divorce, rights of tithes, oblations and obventions (the knowl- 
edge whereof by the goodness of princes of this realm, and by 
the laws and customs of the same, appertaineth to the spiritual 
jurisdiction of this realm) already commenced, moved, depend- 
ing, being, happening, or hereafter coming in contention, de- 
bate, or question within this realm, or within any of the king's 
dominions, or marches of the same, or elsewhere, whether 
they concern the king our sovereign lord, his heirs and suc- 
cessors, or any other subjects or residents within the same, of 
what degree soever they be, shall be from henceforth heard, 
examined, and discussed, and clearly, finally, and definitely 
adjudged and determined within the king's jurisdiction and 
authority, and not elsewhere. . . . 

The following are the main provisions of the Act of 
Supremacy, which completed this gi^oup of statutes. 

Albeit the king's majesty justly and rightfully is and ought 204. The Act 
to be the supreme head of the church of England, and so is of Supremacy 
recognized by the clergy of this realm in their convocations, 
yet nevertheless for corroboration and confirmation thereof, 



344 Readings in English History 

and for increase of virtue in Christ's religion within this realm 
of England, and to repress and extirp all errors, heresies, and 
other enormities and abuses heretofore used in the same ; be it 
The king's enacted by authority of this present parliament, that the king 
position as ^^j. sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, 
of the church shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head 
confirmed and in earth of the church of England, called angUcana ecclesia ; 
that title an- ^^^ %\\3X\. have and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial 
crown crown of this realm, as well the title and style thereof, as 

all honors, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, 
authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said 
dignity of supreme head of the same church belonging and 
appertaining; and that our said sovereign lord, his heirs, 
and successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and 
authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, reform 
order, correct, restrain, and amend all such errors, heresies, 
abuses, offenses, contempts, and enormities, whatsoever they 
be, which by any manner spiritual authority or jurisdiction 
ought or may lawfully be reformed, repressed, ordered, re- 
dressed, corrected, restrained, or amended, most to the pleas- 
ure of Almighty God, the increase of virtue in Christ's religion, 
and for the conservation of the peace, unity, and tranquillity 
of this realm ; any usage, custom, foreign law, foreign authority, 
prescription, or any other thing or things to the contrary 
hereof notwithstanding. 

The dissolution of the monasteries is a difficult sub- 
ject. Our accounts of it are all from those who wished 
to see them dissolved, and are therefore probably prej- 
udiced and unfair. The two letters that follow were sent 
to Cromwell by two of the commissioners whom he sent 
out to investigate, to dismiss the younger monks, and to 
dissolve the whole body of monks and confiscate their 
property whenever they could find reason for doing so. 
The first letter has reference to the great monastery of 
St. Edmund's at Bury, the second to a chapel of the 



TJie Early Tudor Period 345 

Virgin Mary at Caversham, part of the possessions of 
Notley Abbey, and to a house of the Grey Friars at 
Reading, which the citizens of Reading wanted for a new 
townhall. 



Please it your mastership, fforasmoche as I suppose ye 205. John Ap 
shall have sute made unto yow touching Burie er we retourne, ^"^^ *° 
I thought convenient to advertise yow of our procedinges there, cromweii 
and also of the compertes of the same. As for th' abbot, we (i535) 
found nothing suspect as touching his lyving, but it was de- 
tected that he laye moche forth in his granges, that he de- 
lited moche in playng at dice and cardes, and therin spent 
moche money, and in buylding for his pleasure. He did not 
preche openly. Also that he converted divers fermes into 
copie holdes, wherof poore men doth complayne. Also he sem- 
eth to be addict to the mayntenyng of suche supersticious cere- 
mones as hathe ben used hertofor. 

As touching the convent, we coulde geate litle or no re- 
portes amonge theym, although we did use moche diligence 
in our examinacion, and therby, with some other argumentes 
gathered of their examinacions, I fermely beleve and suppose 
that they had confedered and compacted bifore our commyng 
that they shulde disclose nothing. And yet it is confessed and 
proved, that there was here suche frequence of women commyng 
and reasserting to this monastery as to no place more. Amongest 
the reliques we founde moche vanitie and superstition, as the 
coles that Saint Laurence was tosted withall, the paring of 
S. Edmundes naylles, S. Thomas of Canterbury penneknyff 
and his bootes, and divers skulles for the hedache ; peces of 
the holie crosse able to make a hole crosse of ; other reliques Eight monks 
for rayne and certain other superstitiouse usages, for avoyding ""^er age 
of wedes growing in corne, with suche other. Here departe astery, and 
of theym that be under age upon an eight, and of theym that five over age 
be above age upon a iive wolde departe yf they might, and they ^^°" 
be of the best sorte in the house and of best lernyng and 
jugement. The hole nomber of the convent before we cam was 
Ix., saving one, beside iij. that were at Oxforde. Of Elie I 



346 



Readings in English History 



have written to your mastership by my felowe Richard a Lee. 
And thus Almightie God have you in his tuicion. From Burie, 
V. Novembre. 

Your servant moste bounden, 

John Ap Rice. 



206. John 
London to 
Cromwell 
(1538) 



The citizens 
of Reading 
want the 
church of the 
Grey Friars 
for a townhall 



In my most humble maner I have me commendyd unto 
yower gude lordeschippe, acertenyng the same that I have 
pullyd down the image of our ladye at Caversham, wherunto 
wasse great pilgremage. The image ys platyd over with sylver, 
and I have putt yt in a cheste fast lockyd and naylyd uppe, 
and by the next bardge that comythe from Reding to London 
yt shall be browght to your lordeschippe. I have also pullyd 
down the place sche stode in, with all other ceremonyes, as 
lightes, schrowdes, crowchys, and imagies of wex, hangyng 
abowt the chapell, and have defacyd the same thorowly in 
exchuyng of any farther resortt thedyr. Thys chapell dydde 
belong to Notley Abbey, and ther always wasse a chanon of 
that monastery wiche wasse callyd the warden of Caversham, 
and he songe in thys chapell, and hadde the ofTeringes for hys 
lyving. He wasse acostomyd to shew many prety relykes, 
among the wiche wer (as he made reportt) the holy dager that 
kylled kinge Henry, and the holy knyfe that kylled seynt 
Edwarde. All thees, with many other, with the cotes of thys 
image, her cappe and here, my servant shall bring unto your 
lordeschippe thys wek, with the surrendre of the Freers under 
the convent scale and ther scale also. . . . 

I besek your gudde lordeschippe to admytt me a power 
sutar for thees honest men of Redinge. They have a fayer 
towne and many good occupiers in ytt, butt they lacke that 
howse necessary, of the wiche, for the mynystracion of justice, 
they have most nede of. Ther towne hall ys a very small howse, 
and stondith upon the ryver, wher ys the commyn wassch- 
ing place of the most partt of the towne, and in the cession 
dayes and other cowrt dayes ther ys such betyng with batildores 
as oon man can nott here another nor the quest here the 
chardg gevyng. The body of the church of the Grey Fryers, 
wiche ys solyd with lath and lyme, wold be a very commodiose 



The Early Tudor Period 347 

rowme for them. And now I have rydde all the fasschen of 
that church in parcleses, y mages, and awlters, it wolde mak a 
gudly towne hall. The mayer of that tovvne, Mr. Richard 
Turner, a very honest gentill person, with many other honest 
men, hathe expressyd unto me ther gref in thys behalf, and 
have desyred me to be an humble sutar unto your lorde- 
schippe for the same, if it shulde be solde. The wallys besyd 
the coyne stonys be butt chalk and flynt, and the coveryng 
butt tile. And if it please the kinges grace to bestow that 
howse upon any of hys servantes, he may spare the body of 
the churche, wiche stondith next the strete, very well, and yit 
have rowme sufficient for a great man. 

Your most bounden oratour and servant, 

John London. 

A heavy part of the price paid by Henry and by Eng- 
land for the separation from the papacy was the execu- 
tion of many good and noble men who refused to accept 
the requirements of the new laws. The most conspicuous 
of these was Sir Thomas More, one of the wisest, witti- 
est, and best men of his time. An account of his life, 
with many anecdotes, was written by his son-in-law, 
William Roper, some extracts from which have been 
already given. Here is added an account of his last days. 

After this, as the duke of Norfolk and Sir Thomas More 207. From 

chanced to fall in familiar talk together, the duke said unto Roper's life 

° ' . . , of More 

him : " By the mass, Mr. More, it is perilous strivmg with 

princes, and therefore I would wish you somewhat to incline 
to the king's pleasure. For by God's body, Mr. More, ' the 
anger of the king is death.'" "Is that all, my lord?" 
quoth he ; " is there, in good faith, no more difference be- 
tween your grace and me, but that I shall die to-day and 
you to-morrow?" . . . 

Now after his arraignment departed he from the bar to the 
Tower again, led by Sir William Kingston, a tall, strong, and 
comely knight, constable of the Tower, his very dear friend, who 



348 Readings in English History 

when he had brought him from Westminster to the Old Swan 
towards the Tower, there with a heavy heart, the tears rmming 
down his cheeks, bade him farewell. Sir Thomas More, seeing 
him so sorrowful, comforted him with as good words as he 
could, saying, " Good Mr. Kingston, trouble not yourself, but 
be of good cheer. For I will pray for you, and my good lady 
your wife, that we may meet in heaven together, where we shall 
be merry for ever and ever." Soon after. Sir William Kingston, 
talking with me of Sir Thomas More, said, " In faith, Mr. Roper, 
I was ashamed of myself, that at my departure from your father, 
I found my heart so feeble and his so strong, that he was fain 
to comfort me which should rather have comforted him." 
Margaret When Sir Thomas More came from Westminster to the 

Roper, the Tower ward again, his daughter, my wife, desirous to see her 
oTst'Thomas father, whom she thought she should never see in this world 
More after, and also to have his f^nal blessing, gave attendance about 

the Tower wharf, where she knew he should pass by, ere he 
could enter into the Tower. There tarrying for his coming 
home, as soon as she saw him, after his blessings on her knees 
reverently received, she, hasting towards, without considera- 
tion or care of herself, pressing in amongst the midst of the 
throng and the company of the guard, that with halberds and 
bills were round about him, hastily ran to him, and there 
openly in the sight of all of them embraced and took him 
about the neck and kissed him, who, well liking her most 
daughterly love and affection towards him, gave her his fatherly 
blessing, and many godly words of comfort besides; from 
whom after she was departed, she, not satisfied with the former 
sight of her dear father, having respect neither to herself, nor 
to the press of the people and multitude that were about him, 
suddenly turned back again, and ran to him as before, took 
him about the neck, and divers times together most lovingly 
kissed him, and at last with a full heavy heart was fain to de- 
part from him ; the beholding whereof was to many of them 
that were present thereat so lamentable, that it made them 
for very sorrow to mourn and weep. 

So remained Sir Thomas More in the Tower more than a 
seven-night after his judgment. From whence the day before 



The Early Tudor Period 349 

he suffered he sent his shirt of hair, not willing to have it seen, 
to my wife, his dearly beloved daughter, and a letter, written 
with a coal, contained in the aforesaid book of his works, 
showing plainly the fervent desire he had to suffer on the 
morrow in these words : " I cumber you, good Margaret, 
much, but I would be sorry if it should be any longer than 
to-morrow. For to-morrow is St. Thomas' even, and the 
octave of St, Peter, and therefore to-morrow long I to go to 
God, that were a day very meet and convenient for me. And 
I never liked your manners better than when you kissed me 
last. For I like when daughterly love and dear charity hath 
no leisure to look to worldly courtesy." 

And so upon the next morning, being Tuesday, St. Thomas' A messenger 
even, and the octave of St. Peter, in the year of our Lord ^^"^ *'^^ ^'"S 

,.,., ijir 11 ^""l council 

God 1537, accordmg as he m his letter the day before had ^vith the 
wished, early ,in the morning came to him Sir Thomas Pope, death warrant 
his singular friend, on message from the king and his council, 
that he should before nine of the clock in the same morning 
suffer death, and that therefore forthwith he should prepare 
himself thereto. " Mr. Pope," saith he, " for your good tid- 
ings I most heartily thank you. I have been always bounden 
much to the king's highness for the benefits and honors 
which he hath still from time to time most bountifully heaped 
upon me, and yet more bounden I am to his grace for putting 
me into this place, where I have had convenient time and 
space to have remembrance of my end, and so help me God 
most of all, Mr. Pope, am I bound to his highness, that it 
pleased him so shortly to rid me of the miseries of this 
wretched world. And therefore will I not fail most earnestly to 
pray for his grace both here and also in another world." . . . 

"Mr. Pope," quoth he, "you do well that you give me 
warning of his grace's pleasure. For otherwise had I pur- 
posed at that time somewhat to have spoken, but of no matter 
wherewith his grace or any other should have had cause to 
be offended. Nevertheless, whatsoever I intend I am ready 
obediently to conform myself to his grace's commandment. 
And I beseech you, good Mr. Pope, to be a mean unto his 
highness, that my daughter Margaret may be present at my 



350 Readings hi English History 

burial." "The king is well contented already," quoth Mr. 
Pope, " that your wife, children, and other friends shall have 
free liberty to be present thereat." " O how much beholden," 
then said Sir Thomas More, " am I to his grace, that unto 
my poor burial vouchsafeth to have so gracious consideration." 
Wherewithal Mr. Pope, taking his leave of him, could not 
refrain from weeping, which Sir Thomas More perceiving, com- 
forted him in this wise : " Quiet yourself, good Mr. Pope, and 
be not discomforted. For I trust that we shall once in heaven 
see each other merrily, where we shall be sure to live and love 
The exe- together in joyful bliss eternally." Upon whose departure Sir 
cutioneral- Thomas More, as one that had been invited to a solemn 
rhe^clothine feast, changed himself into his best apparel ; which Mr. Lieu- 
of the person tenant espying, advised him to put it off, saying, that he that 
executed should have it was but a worthless fellow. " What, Mr. Lieu- 
tenant," quoth he, " shall I account him a worthless fellow, 
that will do me this day so singular a benefit? Nay, I assure 
you, were it cloth of gold I would account it well bestowed on 
him, as St. Cyprian did, who gave his executioner thirty pieces 
of gold." And albeit at length, through Mr. Lieutenant's per- 
suasions, he altered his apparel, yet, after the example of that 
holy martyr St. Cyprian, did he of that little money that was 
left him, send one angel of gold to his executioner. 
The execution And SO was he brought by Mr. Lieutenant out of the Tower, 
on Tower Hill ^j-^^j from thence led towards the place of execution, where 
going up the scaffold, which was so weak that it was ready to 
fall, he said to Mr. Lieutenant, " I pray you, I pray you, Mr. 
Lieutenant, see me safe up, and for my coming down let me 
shift for myself." Then desired he all the people thereabouts 
to pray for him, and to bear witness with him, that he should 
then suffer death in and for the faith of the holy Catholic 
church, which done he kneeled down, and after his prayers 
said, he turned to the executioner, and with a cheerful coun- 
tenance spake unto him : " Pluck up thy spirits, man, and be 
not afraid to do thine office. My neck is very short; take 
heed, therefore, thou shoot not awry, for saving thine honesty." 
The criticism So passed Sir Thomas More out of this world to God upon 
of Charles V ^]^g ygj-y game day in which himself had most desired. Soon 



The Early Tudor Period 35 i 

after whose death came intelligence thereof to the Emperor 
Charles, whereupon he sent for Sir Thomas Eliott, our English 
ambassador, and said unto him, " My Lord Ambassador, we 
understand that the king, your master, hath put his faithful 
servant and wise councilor Sir Thomas More to death." 
Whereunto Sir Thomas Eliott answered, that he understood 
nothing therof. "Well," said the Emperor, "it is very true, 
and this will we say, that if we had been master of such a 
servant, of whose doings ourselves have had these many years 
no small experience, we would rather have lost the best city 
of our dominions, than have lost such a worthy councilor." 
Which matter was by Sir Thomas Eliott to myself, to my wife, 
to Mr. Clement and his wife, to Mr. John Haywood and his 
wife, and divers others of his friends accordingly reported. 

IV. The Reign of Edward VI 

A curious chronicle of events in London in the early 
years of Edward VI exists, from whose confused wording, 
illiterate expressions, and reckless spelling can still be 
gathered the story of the pulling down of sacred images, 
opposition to the mass in its old form, tearing down of 
some churches, and cessation of church holidays ; all of 
which was evidently disapproved of by the author. 

Item the v. day after in September beganne the kynges vys- 208. Extracts 
ytacion at Powlles, and alle imagys pullyd downe ; and the ix. Q°™p^3jg 
day of the same monyth the sayd visytacion was at sent Bryddes, chronicle 
and after that in dyvers other paryche churches ; and so all (i547-iS48) 
imagys pullyd downe thorrow alle Ynglonde att that tyme, 
and all churches new whytte-lymed, with the commandmenttes 
wryttyne on the walles. And at that tyme was the byshoppe 
of London put into the Flette, and was there more than viij. 
dayes ; and after hym was the byshoppe of Wenchester put 
there also. 

Item at this same tyme was pullyd up alle the tomes, grett 
stones, alle the auteres, with the stalles and walles of the qweer 



352 Readings in English History 

and auteres in the church that was some tyme the Grey freeres, 

and solde, and the qweer made smaller. 

Thys yere the iiijth day of November bagan the parlement 

at Westmyster, and before this parlament the lord Richard 

Ryche was made chaunseler of Ynglond, and the lord Sent 

Jone that was lorde grandmaster gave it up. 
The crucifix Item the xvij. day of the same monythe at nyghte was puUyd 
and images (jowne the Rode in PowUes with Mary and John, with all the 

in St. Paul's . • 1 1 , c J ^ 

Cathedral nnages in the churche, and too of the men that labord at yt 
destroyed was slayne and dyvers other sore hurtte. Item also at that 
same time was pullyd downe thorrow alle the kynges domyn- 
yon in every churche alle Roddes with alle images. Also the 
newyeresday after preched doctor Latemer that some tyme was 
byshop of Wysseter preched at Powlles crosse, and too sondayes 
followyn, etc. Also this same tyme was moche spekyng agayne 
the sacrament of the auter, that some callyd it Jacke of the 
boxe, with divers other shamfulle names ; and then was made 
a proclamacyon agayne it, and so contynewyd ; and at Ester 
foUowyng there began the common ion and confession but of 
thoys that wolde, as the boke dothe specifythe. And at this 
tyme was moche prechyng agayne the masse. And the sacra- 
ment of the auter pullyd downe in dyvers placys thorrow the 
realme. Item after Ester beganne the servis in Ynglyshe (at 
Powles at the commandment of the dene at the tyme, William 
May), and also in dyvers other pariche churches. Item also at 
Wytsontude beganne the sermons at sent Mary spyttylle. Item 
also this yere was Barkyng chappylle at the Towre hylle pullyd 
downe, and sent Martyns at the chambuUes end, sent Nicolas 
in the chambulles, and sent Ewyns, and within the gatte of 
Newgate thoys were put unto the churche that some tyme was 
the Grey Freres ; and also Strand churche also pullyd downe 
to make the protector duke of Somerset's place larger. 
Abolition of Item this yere was alle the chaunterys put downe. . . . 

Item on Trenyte sonday preched doctor Kyrkame, and sayd 

that in the sacrament was no substance but brede and wynne. 

Item on sente Barnabes day was kepte no holiday through 

alle Londone at the commandment of the mayer, and at 

nyght was the aulter in Powlles pullyd downe, and as that 



the chantries 



The Early Tudor Period 353 

day the vayelle was hongyd up benethe the steppes and the 
tabuUe sett up there ; and as sennet after there the comunion 
was mynysterd. Item the xiiij. day of June was sattorday, and 
before evyning was a mane slayne in PowUes church, and ij. 
frayes with-in the church that same tyme afterward. 

Item also this yere Corpus Christi was not kepte holy day. 

And the Assumpcion of our Lady was soche devision thor- 
row alle London that some kepte holy day and some none. 
Almyghty God helpe it whan hys wylle ys ! for this was the 
second yere, and also the same devision was at the fest of the 
Nativitie of our Lady. 

Item the last day of August preched at the crosse Stephin The Princess 
Caston, and there spake agayne the lady Mary asmoche as he Mary opposed 
myghte, but he namyd not hare, but sayd there was a gret g^g was a 
woman with-in the realme that was a gret supporter and mayn- Catholic 
tayner of popery and superstycione, and prayed that she myght 
forsake hare oppynyons, and to follow the kynges prosedynges, 
as he sayed. And also he sayed that kynge Henry the viijth 
was a papyst, with many obprobryus wordes of hym as yt 
was harde. 

The following passage is taken from the first book of 
More's Utopia (see above, p. 317). Although it was 
written some years before the reign of Edward VI, it 
was directed against the excessive introduction of sheep 
farming, the resulting eviction of small farmers, and 
sufferings of the lower classes, which continued to be- 
come worse and worse till they reached their highest 
point in his reign. 

Your sheep that were wont to be so meek and tame, and so 209. Sheep 
small eaters, now, as I hear say, be become so great devourers farming, in- 

ClOSllT6S SLIld 

and so wild, that they eat up and swallow down the very men evictions 
themselves. They consume and destroy and devour whole 
fields, houses, and cities. For look in what parts of the realm 
doth grow the finest and therefore dearest wool, there noble- 
men and gentlemen, yea and certain abbots, holy men no 



354 Readings in English History 

doubt, not contenting themselves with the yearly revenues 
and profits that were wont to grow to their forefathers and 
predecessors of their lands, nor being content that they live 
in rest and pleasure nothing profiting, yea much annoying the 
weal public, leave no ground for tillage ; they inclose all into 
pastures; they throw down houses; they pluck down towns, 
and leave nothing standing, but only the church, to be made 
a sheep house. 

And as though you lost no small quantity of ground by 
forests, chases, lawns, and parks, those good holy men turn all 
dwelling places and all glebe land into desolation and wilder- 
ness. Therefore that one covetous and insatiable cormorant 
and very plague of his native country may compass about and 
inclose many thousand acres of ground together within one 
pale or hedge, the husbandmen be thrust out of their own, or 
else either by cunning or fraud or by violent oppression they 
be put beside it, or by wrongs and injuries they be so wearied 
that they be compelled to sell all : by one means therefore or 
by other, either by hook or crook, they must needs depart 
away, poor, silly, wretched souls, men, women, husbands, wives, 
fathers, children, widows, woeful mothers, with their young 
babes, and their whole household, small in substance and 
much in number, as husbandry requireth many hands. Away 
they trudge, I say, out of their known and accustomed houses, 
finding no place to rest in. 

All their household stuff, which is very little worth, though 
it might well abide the sale : yet being suddenly thrust out, 
they be constrained to sell it for a thing of nought. And when 
they have wandered abroad till they be spent, what can they 
else do but steal, and then justly pardy be hanged, or else go 
about begging. And yet then also they be cast in prison as 
vagabonds, because they go about and work not : whom no 
man will set a work, though they never so willingly proffer 
themselves thereto. For one shepherd or herdsman is enough 
to eat up that ground with cattle, to the occupying whereof 
about husbandry many hands were requisite. 



The Early Tudor Period 355 



V. The Reign of Queen Mary 

The following description of Queen Mary is given by 
one of the Venetian ambassadors to whom we owe so 
many such accounts. He was at the English court 
shortly after the middle of Mary's reign. 

Queen Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII and of his queen 210. Report 

Catherine, daughter of Ferdinand the Catholic, king of Aragon, °* Giovanni 

■ t ^ .u T u .X. I J J Micheleto 

IS a princess ot great worth. In her youth she was rendered the Venetian 

unhappy by the event of her mother's divorce ; by the igno- senate (1557) 

miny and threats to which she was exposed after the change 

of religion in England, she being unwilling to unbend to the 

new one ; and by the dangers to which she was exposed by the 

duke of Northumberland, and the riots among the people when 

she ascended the throne. 

She is of short stature, well made, thin, and delicate, and Mary, like her 
moderately pretty : her eyes are so lively that she inspires rev- grandfather, 

j^-^ ,•' . , , ^, father,brother, 

erence and respect, and even fear, wherever she turns them ; ^nd sister 
nevertheless she is very shortsighted. Her voice is deep, almost was well edu- 
cated and 
fond of music 



like that of a man. She understands five languages, — English, '^'^^^^ ^"'^ 



Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian, in which last, however, she 
does not venture to converse. She is also much skilled in ladies' 
work, such as producing all sorts of embroidery with the needle. 
She has a knowledge of music, chiefly on the lute, on which she 
plays exceedingly well. As to the qualities of her mind, it may 
be said of her that she is rash, disdainful, and parsimonious 
rather than liberal. She is endowed with great humility and 
patience, but is withal high-spirited, courageous, and resolute, 
having during the whole course of her adversity not been 
guilty of the least approach to meanness of deportment ; she 
is, moreover, devout and stanch in the defense of her religion. 
Some personal infirmities under which she labors are the causes 
to her of both public and private affliction ; to remedy these 
recourse is had to frequent bloodletting, and this is the real 
cause of her paleness and the general weakness of her frame. 
These also have given rise to the unfounded rumor that the 



356 Readings in E?iglish History 

queen is in a state of pregnancy. The cavil she has been 
exposed to, the evil disposition of the people toward her, the 
present poverty and the debt of the crown, and her passion for 
King Philip, from whom she is doomed to live separate, are so 
many causes of the grief with which she is overwhelmed. She 
is, moreover, a prey to the hatred she bears to my lady Eliza- 
beth, which has its source in the recollection of the wrongs she 
experienced on account of her mother, and in the fact that 
all eyes and hearts are turned towards my lady Elizabeth as 
successor to the throne. 

The following account of the death of Lady Jane Grey 
was written by some one who was present at the 
execution. 

211. From the By this tyme was ther a scaffolde made upon the grene over 
Chronicle of agaynst the White tower, for the saide lady Jane to die apon. 
and Queen Who with hir husband was appoynted to have ben put to 
Mary deathe the fryday before, but was staled tyll then, for what 

cause is not knowen, unlesse yt were because hir father was 
not then come into the Tower. The saide lady, being nothing 
at all abashed, neither with feare of her owne deathe, which 
then approached, neither with the sight of the ded carcase of 
hir husbande, when he was brought in to the chapell, came 
fourthe, the levetenaunt leding hir, in the same gown wherin 
she was arrayned, hir countenance nothing abashed, neither 
her eyes eny thing moysted with teares, although her ij. gentyl- 
women, mistress Elizabeth Tylney and mistress Eleyn, wonder- 
fully wept, with a boke in hir hande, wheron she praied all the 
way till she cam to the saide scaffolde, wheron when she was 
mounted she sayd to the people standing thereabout : " Good 
people, I am come hether to die, and by a lawe I am con- 
demned to the same. The facte, in dede, against the quenes 
The Lady highnesse was unlawfull, and the consenting thereunto by me : 
Jane's speech ^^^ touching the procurement and desvre therof by me or on 

on the scaffold ° '^ 1 1 ' r ' • 1 /• 

my halfe, I doo wash my handes thereof m mnocencie, before 
God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day," 
and therewith she wrong her handes, in which she had hir 



The Early Tudor Period -357 

booke. Then she sayd, " I pray you all, good Christian people, 
to beare me witnesse that I dye a true Christian woman, and 
that I looke to be saved by none other meane, but only by the 
mercy of God in the merits of the blood of his only sonne 
Jesus Christ : and I confesse, when I dyd know the word of 
God I neglected the same, loved my selfe and the world, and 
therefore this plague or punyshment is happely and worthely 
happened unto me for my sins ; and yet I thank God of his 
goodnesse that he hath thus geven me a tyme and respet to 
repent. And now, good people, while I am alyve, I pray you 
to assyst me with your prayers." And then, knelyng downe, 
she turned to Fecknam, saying, "Shall I say this psalme? " 
And he said, " Yea." Then she said the psalme of Miserere 
niei Deus in English, in most devout maner, to the end. Then 
she stode up, and gave her maiden, mistris Tilney, her gloves 
and handkercher, and her book to maister Bruges, the lyve- 
tenantes brother ; forthwith she untyed her gown. The hang- 
man went to her to help her off therewith ; then she desyred 
him to let her alone, turning towards her two gentlewomen, 
who helped her off therwith, and also with her frosepaast and 
neckercher, geving to her a fayre handkercher to knytte about 
her eyes. 

Then the hangman kneeled downe, and asked her forgeve- 
nesse, whome she forgave most willingly. Then he willed her 
to stand upon the strawe : which doing, she sawe the block. 
Then she sayd, " I pray you dispatch me quickly." Then she 
kneeled down, saying, "Will you take it off before I lay me 
downe?" and the hangman answered her, "No, madame." 
She tyed the kercher about her eys ; then feeling for the 
blocke, saide, "What shall I do? Where is it?" One of the 
standersby guyding her therunto, she layde her heade down 
upon the blocke, and stretched forth her body and said, 
" Lorde, into thy hands I commende my spirite ! " And so 
she ended. 

The two following cases of the burning for heresy of 
three obscure persons in the eastern counties of England 
may be taken as typical of more than two hundred similar 



358 Readings in English History 

cases during Queen Mary's reign of five years, a number 
of which are described, Hke these, in Foxe's Book of 
Martyrs. It must be said that there is some question 
of the exact accuracy of these accounts, as they are 
given by a very ardent Protestant. 

212. Exe- Mr. Robert Samuel was a very pious man, and an eminent 

cution of preacher of the gospel, according to the principles of the 
Samuel of Reformation, during the reign of Edward VI. He attended 
Ipswich his charge with indefatigable industry, and by his preaching 
and living, recommended and enforced the truth of the gospel. 
Soon after the accession of Queen Mary, he was turned out 
of his living, and retired to Ipswich ; but he could not refrain 
from using his utmost efforts to propagate the reformed reli- 
gion, and, therefore, what he was prevented doing in public he 
did in private. He assembled those who had been accustomed 
to hear him in a room in his house, and there daily taught 
them such precepts as might lead them to salvation. . . . 

At length, his conduct reaching the ears of Foster, a justice 
of peace in those parts, every artifice was used by that popish 
bigot to apprehend Mr. Samuel, who was at length taken into 
custody by some of his myrmidons. . . . 

In order to bring Mr. Samuel to recant, they confined him 
in a close prison, where he was chained to a post in such a 
manner, that, standing only on tiptoe, he was, in that position, 
forced to sustain the whole weight of his body. 

To aggravate this torment, they kept him in a starving con- 
dition twelve days, allowing him no more than two bits of 
bread and three spoonfuls of water each day, which was done 
in order to protract his misery till they could invent new tor- 
ments to overcome his patience and resolution. 
. These inhuman proceedings brought him to so shocking a 
state that he was often ready to perish with thirst and hunger. 
At length, when all the tortures that these savages could 
invent proved ineffectual, and nothing could induce our martyr . 
to deny his great Lord and Master, he was condemned to be 
burned, an act less cruel than what he had already suffered. 



TJie Early Tiidor Period 359 

On the 31st of August, 1555, he was taken to the stake, 
where he declared to the people around him what cruelties he 
had suffered during the time of his imprisonment, but that he 
had been enabled to sustain them all by the consolations of 
the divine spirit, with which he had been daily visited. Before 
Mr. Samuel was chained to the stake, he exhorted the spec- 
tators to avoid idolatry, and hold fast the truths of the gospel ; 
after which he knelt down and prayed audibly. 

When he had finished his prayer he arose, and, being fastened 
to the stake, the fagots were placed around him and immedi- 
ately lighted. He bore his sufferings with a courage and reso- 
lution truly Christian, cheerfully resigning this life of care and 
trouble in exchange for another where death shall be swallowed 
up in victory. 

These two advocates and sufferers for the pure gospel of Execution of 
Tesus Christ, lived in the town of Ipswich, in Suffolk, Being Agnes Potten 
apprehended on an mformation of heresy, they were brought Trunchfieid 
before the bishop of Norwich, who examined them concerning of Ipswich 
their religion in general and their faith in the corporeal presence 
of Christ in the sacrament of the altar in particular. 

With respect to the latter article, they both delivered it as 
their opinion, that, in the sacrament of the Lord's supper 
there was represented the memorial only of Christ's death and 
passion, saying that according to the scriptures he was ascended 
up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God the Father, 
and therefore his body could not be really and substantially 
in the sacrament. 

A few days after this they were examined by the bishop, 
when, both of them still continuing steadfast in the profession 
of their faith, sentence was pronounced against them as here- 
tics, and they were delivered over to, the secular power. 

On the day appointed for their execution, which was in the 
month of March, 1556, they were both led to the stake and 
burnt, in the town of Ipswich. Their constancy was admired 
by the multitude who saw them suffer ; for as they undressed 
and prepared themselves for the fire, they earnestly exhorted 
the people to believe only in the unerring word of the only 



360 Rcadmgs in English History 

living and true God, and not regard the devices and inventions 
of men. 

They both openly declared that they despised the errors 
and superstitions of the church of Rome, and most patiently 
submitted to the acute torments of devouring flames, calling 
upon the God of their salvation, and triumphing in being 
deemed worthy to suffer for the glorious cause of Jesus Christ, 
their Lord and Master. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH, 1558-1603 

I. The Early Period of Queen Elizabeth 

The following extract from a report of a Venetian 
ambassador, made in the middle of Queen Mary's reign, 
indicates the impression which "my lady Elizabeth" 
made before she became queen, and describes her diffi- 
cult position during these troubled years. . 

My lady Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne 213. The 

Boleyn, was born in 1=;^^, in the month of September, — so Princess 

, • , r r., • , , Elizabethat 

that she is at present twenty-three years of age. She is a lady her sister's 

of great elegance both of body and mind, although her face court (1556) 
may rather be called pleasing than beautiful; she is tall and 
well made; her complexion fine, though rather sallow; her 
eyes, but, above all, her hands, which she takes care not to 
conceal, are of superior beauty. She excels the queen in the 
knowledge of languages, for in addition to Latin she has ac- 
quired no small acquaintance with Greek. She speaks Italian, 
which the queen does not, in which language she takes such 
delight, that in the presence of Italians it is her ambition not 
to converse in any other. Her spirits and understanding are 
admirable, as she has proved by her conduct in the midst of 
suspicion and danger, when she concealed her religion and 
comported herself like a good Catholic. 

She is proud and dignified in her manners ; for, though her 
mother's condition is well known to her, she is also aware that 
this mother of hers was united to the king in wedlock, with the 
sanction of the holy church and the concurrence of the primate 
of the realm ; and though misled with regard to her religion, she 

361 



362 Readings in English History 

is conscious of having acted with good faith ; nor can this latter 
circumstance reflect upon her birth, since she was born in the 
same faith as that professed by the queen. Her father's affection 
she shared at least in equal measure with her sister ; it is said 
that she resembles her father more than the queen does, and 
the king considered them equally in his will, settling on both of 
them ten thousand scudi per annum. Yet with this allowance 
she is always in debt. And she would be much more so, if she 
did not studiously abstain from enlarging her establishment, and 
so giving greater offense to the queen. For indeed there is not 
a knight or gentleman in the kingdom who has not sought her 
service, either for himself, or for some son or brother ; such is 
the affection and love that she commands. This is one reason 
why her expenses are increased. She always alleges her poverty 
as an excuse to those who wish to enter her service, and by this 
means she has cleverly contrived to excite compassion, and at 
the same time a greater affection ; because there is no one to 
whom it does not appear strange that she — the daughter of a 
king — should be treated in so miserable a manner. 
Elizabeth at She is allowed to live in one of her houses about twelve 
Hatfield miles distant from London, but she is surrounded by a number 
of guards and spies, who watch her narrowly and report every 
movement to the queen. Moreover, the queen, though she 
hates her most sincerely, yet treats her in public with every 
outward sign of affection and regard, and never converses with 
Philip favors her but on pleasing and agreeable subjects. She has also con- 
Ehzabeth trived to ingratiate herself with the king of Spain, through 
whose influence the queen is prevented from bastardizing her, 
as she certainly has it in her power to do by means of an act 
of parliament, and which would exclude her from the throne. 
It is believed that but for this interference of the king, the 
queen would without remorse chastise her in the severest 
manner ; for whatever plots against the queen are discovered, 
my lady Elizabeth or some of her people may always be sure 
to be mentioned among the persons concerned in them. 

When Mary died and Elizabeth became qvieen, the 
ambassador of Spain, the Count de Feria, hoped, at first. 



The Reigii of Elisabeth 363 

that he might exercise as strong an influence over her 
as he had over the former queen. His disappointment, 
his efforts to retain his influence, and his growing recog- 
nition that there was to be an entire change in religion 
and poHcy, are well shown in the following extracts from 
his letters written to the king of Spain during the first 
six months of the new reign. 

It gives me great trouble every time I write to your Majesty 214. Letters 

not to be able to send more pleasing intelligence, but what *romthe 

^ 1 1 J 1 Spanish am- 

can be expected from a country governed by a queen, and she bassador 

a young lass, who, although sharp, is without prudence, and is to the king 

every day standing up against religion more openly? The king- ° ^^^^ 

dom is entirely in the hands of young folks, heretics, and traitors, 

and the queen does not favor a single man whom her Majesty, 

who is now in heaven, would have received, and will take no 

one into her service who served her sister when she was Lady December 

Mary. On the way from the Tower to her house where she '5, 1588 

now is, she saw the marquis of Northampton, who is ill with a 

quartan ague, at a window, and she stopped her palfrey and 

was for a long while asking him about his health in the most 

cordial way in the world. The only true reason for this was 

that he had been a great traitor to her sister, and he who is 

most prominent in this way is now best thought of. The old 

people and the Catholics are dissatisfied, but dare not open 

their lips. She seems to me incomparably more feared than 

her sister, and gives her orders and has her way as absolutely 

as her father did. Her present controller and Secretary Cecil 

govern the kingdom, and they tell me the earl of Bedford has 

a good deal to say. 

When I spoke to her at Lord North's house, she told me 
that when anything had to be discussed with me she would 
send two of her Council to me. I asked her which two they 
would be, so that I might know with whom to communicate in 
case I had anything to say. She said they would be the con- 
troller, Cecil, and Admiral Clinton, and directly afterwards she 
appointed the first two, so I knew she only mentioned Clinton 



364 Readings in English History 

because she thought I was friendly with him, and I satisfied 
myself of this subsequently. She afterwards said that when 
I wanted anything I was to speak to her personally, and I ' 
made an appearance of being very highly gratified with this. I 
know this is a very feeble foundation to begin with, but I was 
glad nevertheless. 

I am trying to get a chamber in the palace when she goes 
to Whitehall, although I am very much afraid they will not 
give me one, but I have little chance of getting to talk to these 
people from the outside, and they are so suspicious of me that 
not a man amongst them dares to speak to me ; as the late 
chancellor has told me plainly. He is a worthy person and 
she knows it, but he is not in the gang and will not return to 
office. He tells me that if they offered it to him he would not 
accept it. I think Paget is dying as fast as he can. He was 
very bad before, and the queen seems not to have favored him 
as he expected ; indeed I do not think she will return him his 
office, and this no doubt has increased his malady. 
Unpopularity They are all very glad to be free of your Majesty, as if you 
of Phihp in j^^^ done harrh instead of very much good, and although in 
"^ all my letters to your Majesty I have said how small a party 

you have here, I am never satisfied that I have said enough to 
describe things as they really are. As I am so isolated from 
them I am much embarrassed and confused to devise means of 
finding out what is going on, for truly they run away from me 
as if I were the devil. The best thing will be to get my foot 
into the palace, so as to speak oftener to the queen, as she is 
a woman who is very fond of argument. 

Everybody thinks that she will not marry a foreigner, and 
they cannot make out whom she favors, so that nearly every 
day some new cry is raised about a husband. They have 
dropped the earls of Arundel and Westmoreland, and say now 
she will marry William Howard's son, or Pickering, who went 
to bring over the Germans that Wallerthum raised. The most 
discreet people fear she will marry for caprice, and as the 
good or evil of the business all turns on this, I do nothing but 
think how and when I can get a word in about it. As your 
Majesty tells me I am to give my opinion I proceed to do so, 



The Reign of Elizabeth 365 

after describing the real state of affairs here, as I always do, 
because in that case the simple things I say myself are of 
less importance. . . . 

I have seen her twice since she has been queen, once in 
Lord North's house and once in that which belonged to the 
duke of Somerset, where she is now. When I saw her at North's 
she began taking off her glove as soon as she saw me, so that 
I might kiss her hand, as I did. I did not speak of business, 
confining myself to compliments, but told her, as my only reason 
for being here was to serve her and advise your Majesty how to 
gratify her in everything, I proposed also to convey to her the 
knowledge of things in which your Majesty could be gratified, 
and so to help forward the good fellowship which I thought 
both parties wished to preserve. In pursuance of this I said 
your Majesty had ordered me to beg her to be very careful 
about religious affairs as they were what first and principally The queen's 
concerned you. She answered that it would indeed be bad for caution m 
her to forget God who had been so good to her, which appeared matters 
to me rather an equivocal reply. . . . 

The day I -aw the queen at Lord North's the Swedish am- 
bassadors spoke with her, the same man as was here before 
and another. They still urge the marriage, but these people 
take no notice of them. 

Boxall told me that the queen says the king of France was 
at war with her sister, but not with her. I quite believe it, 
for she is a very strange sort of a woman. All the heretics 
who had escaped are beginning to flock back again from 
Germany, and they tell me there are some pestilential fellows 
amongst them. 

On the Sunday of Christmastide the queen before going to December 
mass sent for the bishop of Carlisle, who was to officiate, and ^9> 1588 
told him that he need not elevate the host for adoration. The 
bishop answered that her Majesty was mistress of his body and 
life, but not of his conscience, and accordingly she heard the 
mass until after the gospel, when she rose and left, so as not 
to be present at the canon and adoration of the host which the 
bishop elevated as usual. They tell me that yesterday she heard 



366 Readings in English History 

mass said by another bishop, who was requested not to elevate 
the host, and acted accordingly, and she heard it to the end. 
I should like in these affairs to animate and encourage the 
Catholics so that she may find difficulties in the way of doing 
the wicked things she is beginning, but I am doing it with the 
utmost caution in order that she may not be offended or quarrel 
with me more than need be. This affair is going at a pace that, 
in spite of the good offices your Majesty may perform with the 
pope, it will be impossible to stop, and I hear that he will de- 
clare this queen a bastard and will proceed against her, giving 
the right to the crown to the queen of Scots. 

February I have thought best not to speak in earnest to the queen 

20' 1559 about religion yet, although I see her plainly going to perdi- 

tion, but it seems to me that if the marriage is carried out the 
The marriage rest will soon be arranged, and all will proceed in accordance 
with Phihp \x\i\v the glory of God and the wishes of your Majesty, whilst 
if the marriage do not take place, all I could say to the queen 
would be of little avail, as she is so badly advised by the here- 
tics she has around her and in her council, and it might even 
greatly prejudice the conclusion of the principal matter. . . . 

After talking a long time on these points the queen wished 
to be seated and seemed to expect that I was going to reopen 
the former conversation. I did not wish to begin on that sub- 
ject again, and only said that all these difficulties could be 
overcome if only her Majesty would do certain things which I 
would talk about when we had got rid of the other affair (i.e. 
of the peace). She gave me no answer, but she understood 
very well what I meant, and that I was displeased with the re- 
sult of the last audience, in which, as I told your Majesty at 
the beginning of this letter, she was going to give me an answer 
to the effect that she did not mean to marry, and questioned 
the power of the pope about the dispensation ; and with this 
the conversation ended. 

In the meanwhile I think it will be well for your Majesty's 
commissioners to speak with the queen's commissioners on this 
subject of religion, and express their sorrow at the wickedness 
which is being planned in this parliament, which consists of 



The Reign of Elizabeth 367 

persons chosen throughout the country as being the most per- The first 
verse and heretical. The queen has entire disposal of the upper parliament of 

, . ,, r • • ,• Elizabeth 

chamber ui a way never seen before in previous parliaments, as ^hj^h adopted 
in this there are several who have hopes of getting her to marry the Acts of 
them, and they are careful to please her in all things and per- Supremacy 
suade others to do the same, besides which there are a great formity 
number whom she has made barons to strengthen her party, 
and that accursed cardinal left twelve bishoprics to be filled 
which will now be given to as many ministers of Lucifer in- 
stead of being worthily bestowed. 

These heretics and the devil that prompts them are so care- March 19,1559 
ful to leave no stone unturned to compass their ends that no 
doubt they have persuaded her that your Majesty wishes to 
marry her for religious objects alone, and so she kept repeating 
to me that she was heretical and consequently could not marry 
your Majesty. She was so disturbed and excited and so resolved 
to restore religion as her father left it, that at last I said that I 
did not consider she was heretical and could not believe that 
she would sanction the things which were being discussed in 
parliament, because if she changed the religion she would be 
ruined, and that your Majesty would not separate from the 
union of the church for all the kingdoms of the earth. She 
said then much less would you do it for a woman. I did not 
want to be all rigor, so I said that men did more for a woman 
than for anything else. 

She said she would not take the title of head of the church, The clergy- 
but that so much money was taken out of the country for the ™^" ^'^° ^^^ 

,, , , , . 1 . . , , , gone into exile 

pope every year that she must put an end to it, and that the during Mary's 
bishops were lazy poltroons. I replied that the poltroons were reign and had 
the preachers she listened to, and that it added little to her """^ ''^^"'■"^d 
honor and was a great scandal that so many rogues should 
come from Germany, and get into the pulpit before her and 
great congregations to preach a thousand absurdities, without 
being learned or worthy of being listened to. 

After we had been talking for half an hour Knollys came in 
and said supper was ready, a new thing, and as I think ar- 
ranged by those who are working this wickedness, for there is 



368 Readings in English History 

nothing annoys them more than that I should speak to her. I 
took my leave, saying that she was not the Queen Elizabeth 
that I knew and that I was very dissatisfied with what I had 
heard, and if she did what she said she would be ruined. This 
was Tuesday evening, and on the next day there was no sermon 
at the palace, as she was unwell ; and truly I do not think 
her health is good. The treasurer of the household (although 
he is a favorite with the queen) is not at all discreet, nor is 
he a good Catholic, as I have said, but still he behaves better 
than the others. 
WiiiiamCecil, Cecil is very clever but a mischievous man and a heretic, and 
governs the queen in spite of the treasurer, for they are not at. 
all good friends and I have done what I can to make them worse. 



afterwards 
Lord Burleigh 



May 10, 1559 The news here is that parliament closed day before yester- 
day, Monday, and the queen having confirmed what had been 
adopted, which I wrote to your Majesty, she now remains gov- 
erness of the Anglican church. The bishops and others who 
are considered Catholics are as firm as on the first day, and 
the bishop of Ely has honored himself in the sight of God and 
the world, for the Catholics did not hold him in high esteem, 
and the heretics tried to gain him over by presents, but he de- 
termined to remain a good Catholic and an honest man. It is 
a great pity to see what is going on here. From Easter they 
will begin to say all the service everywhere in English, and 
they have already commenced to do so in the queen's chapel. 
They tell me that everything is worse even than in the time of 
King Edward. . . . 

In short, what can be said here to your Majesty is only that 
this country after thirty years of a government such as your 
Majesty knows, has fallen into the hands of a woman who is a 
daughter of the devil, and the greatest scoundrels and heretics 
in the land. She is losing the regard of the people and the 
nobles, and in future will lose it still more, now that they have 
brought the question of religion to an end. 

The action taken, with her approval, by Elizabeth's 
first parliament consisted principally of a nev\r Act of 



TJie Reign of Elizabeth 369 

Supremacy and a new Act of Uniformity, the most im- 
portant sections of which follow. 

To the intent that all usurped and foreign power and 215. Extracts 
authority, spiritual and temporal, may forever be clearly extin- *™°^ ^^^ ■^<^* 
guished, and never be used or obeyed within this realm, or 
any other your Majesty's dominions or countries, may it please 
your Highness that it may be further enacted by the authority 
aforesaid, that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or 
potentate, spiritual or temporal, shall at any time after the 
last day of this session of parliament, use, enjoy, or exercise 
any manner of power, jurisdiction, superiority, authority, pre- 
eminence, or privilege, spiritual or ecclesiastical, within this 
realm or within any other your Majesty's dominions or coun- 
tries that now be, or hereafter shall be, but from thenceforth 
the same shall be clearly abolished out of this realm, and all 
other your Highness' dominions forever ; any statute, ordi- 
nance, custom, constitutions, or any other matter or cause 
whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. 

And may it likewise please your Highness, that it may be The headship 
established and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that such ?^ ^^^ church 
jurisdictions, privileges, superiorities, and preeminences, spirit- 
ual or ecclesiastical power or authority, which have heretofore 
been, or may lawfully be exercised or used for the visitation of 
the ecclesiastical state and persons, and for reformation, order, 
and correction of the same, and of all manner of errors, here- 
sies, schisms, abuses, offenses, contempts, and enormities, 
shall forever, by authority of this present parliament, be united 
and annexed to the imperial crown of this realm. . . . 

And for the better observation and maintenance of this act, 
may it please your Highness that it may be further enacted 
by the authority aforesaid, that all and every archbishop, 
bishop, and all and every other ecclesiastical person, and other 
ecclesiastical officer and minister, of what estate, dignity, pre- 
eminence, or degree soever he or they be or shall be, and all 
and every temporal judge, justice, mayor, and other lay or 
temporal officer and minister, and every other person having 
your Highness' fee or wages, within this realm, or any your 



370 



Readmgs in English History 



The oath of 
supremacy 



Any teaching 
in support of 
the powers of 
the pope in 
England to be 
punished by 
confiscation 
of goods 



Highness' dominions, shall make, take, and receive a corporal 
oath upon the evangelist, before such person or persons as shall 
please your Highness, your heirs or successors under the great 
seal of England to assign and name to accept and to take the 
same, according to the tenor and effect hereafter following, 
that is to say : 

" I, A. B., do utterly testify and declare in my conscience, 
that the queen's Highness is the only supreme governor of 
this realm, and of all other her Highness' dominions and 
countries, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or 
causes, as temporal, and that no foreign prince, person, prel- 
ate, state, or potentate has, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, 
power, superiority, preeminence, or authority ecclesiastical or 
spiritual, within this realm ; and therefore I do utterly renounce 
and forsake all foreign jurisdictions, powers, superiorities, and 
authorities, and do promise that from henceforth I shall bear 
faith and true allegiance to the queen's Highness, her heirs and 
lawful successors, and to my power shall assist and defend all 
jurisdictions, preeminences, privileges, and authorities granted 
or belonging to the queen's Highness, her heirs or successors, 
or united and annexed to the imperial crown of this realm. 
So help me God, and by the contents of this book." . . . 

And for the more sure observation of this act, and the utter 
extinguishment of all foreign and usurped power and authority, 
may it please your Highness, that it may be further enacted 
by the authority aforesaid, that if any person or persons dwell- 
ing or inhabiting within this your realm, or in any other your 
Highness' realms or dominions, of what estate, dignity, or 
degree soever he or they be, after the end of thirty days next 
after the determination of this session of this present parlia- 
ment, shall by writing, printing, teaching, preaching, express 
words, deed, or act, advisedly, maliciously, and directly affirm, 
hold, stand with, set forth, maintain, or defend the authority, 
preeminence, power, or jurisdiction, spiritual or ecclesiastical, 
of any foreign prince, prelate, person, state, or potentate what- 
soever, heretofore claimed, used, or usurped within this realm, 
or any dominion or country being within or under the power, 
dominion, or obeisance of your Highness, or shall advisedly, 



TJie Reign of Elizabeth 371 

maliciously, and directly put in use or execute anything for the 
extolling, advancement, setting forth, maintenance, or defense 
of any such pretended or usurped jurisdiction, power, pre- 
eminence, or authority, or any part thereof; that then every 
such person or persons so doing and ofifending, their abettors, 
aiders, procurers, and counselors, being therefore lawfully 
convicted and attainted, according to the due order and 
course of the common laws of this realm, for his or their first 
offense shall forfeit and lose unto your Highness, your heirs 
and successors, all his and their goods and chattels, as well 
real as personal. . . . 

And if any such offender or offenders, at any time after the A third 
said second conviction and attainder, do the third time com- offense of the 

J J , ■ J rr <• 1 • same kind to 

mit and do the said onenses, or any of them, m manner or ^g punished 
form aforesaid, and be thereof duly convicted and attainted, as treason 
as is aforesaid ; that then every such offense or ofifenses shall 
be deemed and adjudged high treason, and that the offender 
and offenders therein, being thereof lawfully convicted and 
attainted, according to the laws of this realm, shall suffer pains 
of death, and other penalties, forfeitures, and losses, as in 
cases of high treason by the laws of this realm. 

Where at the death of our late sovereign lord King Ed- 216. Extracts 
ward VI there remained one uniform order of common service *™™ *'^® 
and prayer, and of the administration of sacraments, rites, and uniformity 
ceremonies in the church of England, which was set forth in 
one book, entitled : The Book of Cojnmon Prayer and Admin- 
istratio7i of Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies in the 
Church of England ; authorized by act of parliament holden 
in the fifth and sixth years of our said late sovereign lord King 
Edward VI, entitled : An Act for the Uniformity of Common 
Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments ; the which was 
repealed and taken away by act of parliament in the first year 
of the reign of our late sovereign lady Queen Mary, to the 
great decay of the due honor of God, and discomfort to the 
professors of the truth of Christ's religion : 

Be it therefore enacted by the authority of this present par- 
liament, that the said statute of repeal, and everything therein 



372 



Readings in English History 



The use of the 
prayer book of 
Edward VI 
reintroduced 



Clergymen 
must use the 
prayer book 
in their 
services 



All persons 
bound to go 
to church 



contained, only concerning the said book, and the service, 
administration of sacraments, rites, and ceremonies contained 
or appointed in or by the said book, shall be void and of none 
effect, from and after the feast of the Nativity of St. John 
Baptist next coming ; and that the said book, with the order 
of service, and of the administration of sacraments, rites, and 
ceremonies, with the alterations and additions therein added 
and appointed by this statute, shall stand and be, from and 
after the said feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist, in full 
force and effect, according to the tenor and effect of this 
statute ; anything in the aforesaid statute of repeal to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

And further be it enacted by the queen's Highness, with the 
assent of the Lords and Commons in this present parliament 
assembled, and by the authority of the same, that all and 
singular ministers in any cathedral or parish church, or other 
place within this realm of England, Wales, and the marches of 
the same, or other the queen's dominions, shall, from and after 
the feast of the Nativity of St, John Baptist next coming, be 
bound to say and use the Matins, Evensong, celebration of the 
Lord's Supper and administration of the sacraments, in all 
their common and open prayer. . . . 

And that from and after the said feast of the Nativity of St. 
John Baptist next coming, all and every person and persons 
inhabiting within this realm, or any other the queen's Majesty's 
dominions, shall diligently and faithfully, having no lawful or 
reasonable excuse to be absent, endeavor themselves to resort 
to their parish church or chapel accustomed, or upon reason- 
able let thereof, to some usual place where common prayer 
and such service of God shall be used in such time of let, upon 
every Sunday and other days ordained and used to be kept as 
holy days, and then and there to abide orderly and soberly 
during the time of the common prayer, preachings, or other 
service of God there to be used and ministered; upon pain of 
punishment by the censures of the church, and also upon pain 
that every person so offending shall forfeit for every such 
offense twelve pence, to be levied by the churchwardens of 
the parish where such offense shall be done, to the use of the 



The Reign of Elizabeth 373 

poor of the same parish, of the goods, lands, and tenements 
of such offender, by way of distress. 

Notwithstanding the settlement of religion indicated 
by the passage of these laws, hopes were still entertained 
in Roman Catholic countries, and especially by the pope, 
that the queen and England would return to the old 
church. The following letter was therefore sent to 
Elizabeth by the pope in 1560. 

Dear daughter in Christ : Health and apostolic benediction. 217. Pope 
How greatly we desire, our pastoral charge requiring it, to ^^"® ^^ 
procure the salvation of your soul, and to provide likewise for Elizabeth 
your honor, and the establishment of your kingdom withal, (^^y 5. 
God, the searcher of all hearts, knoweth, and you may under- 
stand by what we have given in charge to this our beloved 
son, Vincentius Parpalia, abbot of St. Saviour's, a man well 
known to you and well approved by us. Wherefore we do 
again and again exhort and admonish your Highness, most 
dear daughter, that, rejecting evil counselors, which love not 
you but themselves and serve their own lusts, you would take 
the fear of God into counsel with you, and acknowledging the 
time of your visitation, show yourself obedient to our fatherly 
persuasions and wholesome counsels, and promise to yourself 
from us all things that may make not only to the salvation of 
your soul, but also whatsoever you shall desire from us, for the 
establishment and confirming of your princely dignity, accord- 
ing to the authority, place, and office committed unto us by God. 

And, if so be, as we desire and hope, you shall return into 
the bosom of the church, we shall be ready to receive you with 
the same love, honor, and rejoicing that the father in the 
gospel did his son returning unto him : although our joy is 
like to be the greater in that he was joyful for the salvation of 
one son, but you, drawing along with you all the people of 
England, shall hear us and the whole company of our brethren 
(who are shortly, God willing, to be assembled in a general 
council, for the taking away of heresies and so for the salvation 
of yourself and your whole nation) fill the universal church 



374 Readings in EnglisJi History 

with rejoicing and gladness : yea, you shall make glad heaven 
itself with such a memorable act, and achieve admirable 
renown to your name, much more glorious than the crown 
you wear. But concerning this matter the same Vincentius 
shall deal with you more largely, and shall declare our fatherly 
affection toward you ; and we entreat your Majesty to receive 
him lovingly, to hear him diligently, and to give the same 
credit to his speeches which you would to ourseK. 

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, May 5, 1560, in our first year. 

Many of the personal characteristics of Elizabeth and 
of the circumstances of the time come out in the inter- 
esting Memoirs of Sir James Melville, who came twice 
to EHzabeth's court, in 1564 and 1565, as ambassador 
from Mary, Queen of Scots, then living at Edinburgh. 

218. Extracts Being arrived at London, I lodged near the Court, which 
from the ^^^^ ^^ Westminster. My host immediately gave advertisement 

Memoirs of . . -iiivj-- ■»» 

Sir Tames of ^'^Y commg ; and that same night her Majesty sent Mr. 

Melville Hatton, afterward governor of the Isle of Wight, in her name 

to welcome me, and to show me that the next morning she 
would give me audience in her garden at eight of the clock. 
She had been advertised by the earl of Bedford, governor of 
Berwick, that I was upon the way. That same night I was 
visited by Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, one of my old and 
dearest friends by long acquaintance ; first during his banish- 
ment in France, in the reign of Queen Mary ; and afterward 
while he was an ambassador in France for this queen, where I 
was for the time pensioner to King Henry II, and servant to 
the constable. 

This Sir Nicholas was my dear friend, and had procured a 
pension for me from his mistress, to help to entertain me on 
my travels, when I had willingly banished myself the court of 
France, so long as there were civil wars between France and 
Scotland. He was a devout friend to the queen my mistress, 
and to her right and title to the succession of the crown of 
England. From him I had full information of affairs, and 
friendly advice how to proceed with the queen and every 



TJie Reign of Elisabeth 375 

courtier in particular : for he was a special instrument of 
helping my lord of Murray and secretary Liddington to pack 
up the first friendship betwixt the two queens ; and betwixt 
the earl of Murray and Lord Robert ; and between the two 
secretaries. Albeit he had no great kindness either for my 
lord Robert or Secretary Cecil, yet he knew that nothing could 
be done without them. Among other counsels, he gave me Lord Robert 
advice to use great familiarity with the ambassador of Spain, ^'^^^^f' ^^^^^- 
in case I found the queen his mistress hard to be dealt with ; Leicester the 
alleging that it would be a great spur to move the queen of queen's 
England to give our queen greater and more speedy content- ^^°"*^ 
ment in her desire than yet she had done. 

The next morning Mr. Hatton and Mr. Randolph, late 
agent for the queen of England in Scotland, came to my lodg- 
ing to convey me to her Majesty, who was, as they said, 
already in the garden. With them came a servant of my lord 
Robert's, with a horse and a foot mantle of velvet laced with 
gold for me to ride upon ; which servant, with the said horse, 
waited upon me all the time that I remained there. I found 
her Majesty walking in an alley. And after I had kissed her 
hand, and presented my letter of credence, I told her Majesty 
in French the effect of my commission, as near to the afore- 
said instructions as I could ; and sometimes being interrupted 
by her demands, I answered as I judged most pertinent. The 
reason why I spoke French was, that being but lately come 
home, I could not speak my own language so promptly as was 
requisite. 

Her first demand was concerning the letter that the queen The queen of 
had written to her with such despiteful language that she ^^°*^.' '^'^' 
thence conjectured all friendship and familiarity to have been to Elizabeth 
given up : which had made her resolve never to write any 
more but another as despiteful, which she took out of her 
pocket to give me to read, she having had it already written 
to show it to me. She told me she had hitherto delayed to 
send it, because she thought it too gentle, till she had written 
another more vehement, for answer to the queen's angry bill. 
For my part, I appeared to find such hard interpretation to be 
made upon the queen's loving and frank dealing very strange. 



■^']^ Readings in English History 

I told her Majesty that my mistress could not call to mind 
what words they were which had given her such offense. 
Whereupon she brought forth the queen's letter, giving it to me 
to read ; which when I had perused, I said I could find therein 
no offensive word, when I considered the familiarity had for- 
merly been betwixt them : alleging, that albeit her Majesty 
could speak as good French as any who had not been out of 
the country, that yet she was out of use of the French court 
language, which was frank and short, and had frequently two 
significations, which familiar friends took always in the best 
part : intreating her Majesty to tear the angry letter, which 
she thought to have sent in answer. And in revenge of the 
queen's, I protested that I should never let her Majesty know 
that her true plain meaning had been so misconstructed. 

Having tossed some words upon this matter, she being de- 
sirous of an honest color or pretext, she appeared the more 
readily satisfied in that point for the fear she had, that friend- 
ship and correspondence should altogether break off, our queen 
being the first seeker to renew and continue the same, by send- 
ing me thither, thereby evidencing that she did not stand upon 
ceremonies with her elder sister. In my presence then she did 
rend her angry letter, with promise of such friendly and frank 
dealing in times coming, as all her good sister's dealings and 
proceedings should be interpreted to the best. 
Elizabeth Thus the old friendship being renewed, she inquired if the 

wants to ar- queen had sent any answer to the proposition of marriage 
riage between "lade to her by Mr. Randolph. I answered, as I had been 
Sir Robert instructed, that my mistress thought little or nothing thereof, 
^"^ »^ but expected the meeting of some commissioners upon the 

Queen Mary ^ ° ' 

Borders, with my lord of Murray and the secretary Liddington, 
to confer and treat upon all such matters of greatest impor- 
tance as should be judged to concern the quiet of both the 
countries and satisfaction of both their Majesties' minds. For 
seeing your Majesties cannot so soon find the opportunity of 
meeting betwixt yourselves, so much desired, which in itself is 
not so expedient until all other jealousies be first removed, and 
all former doubts cleared by your most trusty and familiar 
counselors, the queen my mistress, as I have said, is minded 



The Reign of Elisabeth 377 

to send for her part my lord of Murray and the secretary Lid- 
dington, and expects that your Majesty will send my lord of 
Bedford and my lord Robert Dudley. She answered, it appeared 
that I made but small account of my lord Robert, seeing that 
I named the earl of Bedford before him ; but said, that ere 
long she would make him a far greater earl, and that I should 
see it done before my returning home. For she esteemed him 
as her brother and best friend, whom she would have herself 
married, had she ever minded to have taken a husband. 

But being determined to end her life in virginity, she wished 
that the queen her sister might marry him, as meetest of all 
other whom she could find in her heart to declare her second 
person. For being matched with him, it would best remove 
out of her mind all fears and suspicions to be offended by any 
usurpation before her death ; being assured that he was so 
loving and trusty that he would never permit any such thing 
to be attempted during her time. And that the queen my 
mistress might have the higher esteem of him, I was required 
to stay till I should see him made earl of Leicester and 
baron of Denbigh ; which was done at Westminster with great 
solemnity, the queen herself helping to put on his ceremonial, 
he sitting upon his knees before her with a great gravity. 
But she could not refrain from putting her hand in his neck, 
smilingly tickling him, the French ambassador and I standing 
by. Then she turned, asking at me, how I liked him. I Lord Dam- 
answered, that as he was a worthy servant, so he was happy '^y- cousin of 

, , 1 . , 111- 1 1 1 • Elizabeth and 

who had a prmcess who could discern and reward good service, y^^^^ a.nd 
"Yet," says she, "you like better of yonder long lad," pointing later husband 
towards my lord Darnley, who as nearest prince of the blood, °^ '^^"'^ 
did bear the sword of honor that day before her. My answer 
was, that no woman of spirit would make choice of such a man, 
who more resembled a woman than a man ; for he was hand- 
some, beardless, and lady-faced. And I had no will that she 
should think I liked him, or had any eye or dealing that way. 
Albeit I had a secret charge to deal with my lady Lenox, to 
endeavor to procure liberty for him to go to Scotland (where 
his father was already) under the pretext of seeing the country, 
and conveying the earl, his father, back again to England. . . . 



378 



Readings in English History 



Elizabeth's 
private col- 
lection of 
portraits 



Melville's 
opinion on 
ladies' cos- 
tumes 



"Yes," says she, "I am resolved never to marry, if I be not 
thereto necessitated by the queen my sister's harsh behavior 
toward me." " I know the truth of that, Madam," said I ; 
"you need not tell it me. Your Majesty thinks, if you were 
married, you would be but queen of England ; and now you 
are both king and queen. I know your spirit cannot endure 
a commander." She appeared to be so affectionate to the 
queen her good sister, that she expressed a great desire to 
see her. And because their so much (by her) desired meeting 
could not be so hastily brought to pass, she appeared with 
great delight to look upon her Majesty's picture. 

She took me to her bedchamber and opened a little cabi- 
net, wherein were divers little pictures wrapped within paper, 
and their names written with her own hand upon the papers. 
Upon the first that she took up was written, " My lord's pic- 
ture." I held the candle, and pressed to see that picture so 
named. She appeared loath to let me see it ; yet my impor- 
tunity prevailed for a sight thereof, and found it to be the earl 
of Leicester's picture. I desired that I might have it to carry 
home to my queen ; which she refused, alleging that she had 
but that one picture of his. I said, " Your Majesty hath here 
the original "; for I perceived him at the farthest part of the 
chamber, speaking with Secretary Cecil. Then she took out 
the queen's picture, and kissed it ; and I adventured to kiss her 
hand, for the great love therein evidenced to my mistress. . . . 

The queen my mistress had instructed me to leave matters 
of gravity sometimes, and cast in merry purposes, lest other- 
wise I should be wearied, she being well informed of that 
queen's natural temper. Therefore, in declaring my observa- 
tions of the customs of Dutchland, Poland, and Italy, the 
buskins of the women was not forgot, and what country weed I 
thought best becoming gentlewomen. The queen said she had 
clothes of every sort ; which every day thereafter, so long as I 
was there, she changed. One day she had the English weed, 
another the French, and another the Italian, and so forth. She 
asked me which of them became her best. I answered, in my 
judgment, the Italian dress : which answer I found pleased 
her well; for she delighted to show her golden-colored hair, 



The Reign of Elizabeth 379 

wearing a caul and bonnet, as they do in Italy. Her hair was 
more reddish than yellow, curled in appearance naturally. 

She desired to know of me, what color of hair was reputed 
best ; and whether my queen's hair or hers was best ; and 
which of them two was fairest. I answered, the fairness of 
them both was not their worst faults. But she was earnest 
with me to declare which of them I judged fairest. I said, 
she was the fairest queen in England, and mine the fairest 
queen in Scotland. Yet she appeared earnest. I answered, 
they were both the fairest ladies in their countries ; that 
her Majesty was whiter, but my queen was very lovely. She 
inquired which of them was of highest stature. I said, my 
queen. "Then," saith she, " she is too high ; for I myself am 
neither too high nor too low." Then she asked what kind of 
exercises she used. I answered, that when I received my dis- 
patch, the queen was lately come from the Highlands hunting ; 
that when her more serious affairs permitted, she was taken up 
with reading of histories ; that sometimes she recreated herself 
in playing upon the lute and virginals. She asked if she played 
well. I said, reasonably, — for a queen. 

That same day, after dinner, my lord of Hunsdon drew me Elizabeth as 
up to a quiet gallery, that I might hear some music (but he ^ "lusician 
said that he durst not avow it), where I might hear the queen 
play upon the virginals. After I had hearkened awhile, I stood 
by the tapestry that hung before the door of the chamber, and 
seeing her back was toward the door, I entered within the 
chamber, and stood a pretty space hearing her play excellently 
well. But she left off immediately, so soon as she turned about 
and saw me. She appeared to be surprised to see me, and came 
forward, seeming to strike me with her hand ; alleging she used 
not to play before men, but when she was solitary, to shun 
melancholy. She asked how I came there. I answered, as I 
was walking with my lord Hunsdon, as we passed by the 
chamber door, I heard such melody as ravished me, whereby 
I was drawn in ere I knew how ; excusing my fault of homeli- 
ness, as being brought up in the court of France, where such 
freedom was allowed ; declaring myself willing to endure what 
kind of punishment her Majesty should be pleased to inflict 



38o 



Readmgs in English History 



The queen 
shows off her 
French, 
Italian, and 
German 



upon me for so great an offense. Then she sat down low upon 
a cushion, and I upon my knees by her ; but with her own hand 
she gave me a cushion, to lay under my knee ; which at first I 
refused, but she compelled me to take it. She then called for 
my lady Strafford out of the next chamber ; for the queen was 
alone. She inquired whether my queen or she played best. In 
that I found myself obliged to give her the praise. 

She said my French was good, and asked if I could speak 
Italian ; which she spoke reasonably well. I told her Majesty 
I had no time to learn the language perfectly, not having been 
above two months in Italy. Then she spake to me in Dutch, 
which was not good ; and would know what kind of books I 
most delighted in, whether theology, history, or love matters. 
I said, I liked well of all the sorts. Here I took occasion to 
press earnestly my dispatch. She said I was weary sooner of 
her company than she was of mine. I told her Majesty, that 
though I had no reason of being weary, I knew my mistress 
her affairs called me home : yet I was stayed two days longer, 
till I might see her dance, as I was afterward informed. 
Which being over, she inquired of me whether she or my 
queen danced best. I answered, the queen danced not so 
high and disposedly as she did. 

Then again she wished that she might see the queen at 
some convenient place of meeting. I offered to convey her 
secretly to Scotland by post, clothed like a page ; that under 
this disguise she might see the queen, as James V had gone in 
disguise to France with his own ambassador, to see the duke 
of Vendome's sister, who should have been his wife : telling 
her that her chamber might be kept in her absence, as though 
she were sick : that none need be privy thereto, except my 
lady Strafford and one of the grooms of her chamber. She 
appeared to like that kind of language, only answered it with 
a sigh, saying, "Alas ! if I might do it thus." She used all the 
means she could to oblige me to persuade the queen of the 
great love she did bear unto her, and that she was fully minded 
to put away all jealousies and suspicions, and in times coming 
to entertain a stricter friendship than formerly. She promised 
that my dispatch should be delivered to me very shortly at 



The Reign of Elizabeth 381 

London, by Secretary Cecil : for now she was at Hampton 
Court, where she gave me my answer by mouth herself, and 
her secretary by writing. 

The next day my lord of Leicester desired me to go down An interview 
the river in his barge with him to London. He had in his with Leicester 
company Sir Henry Sidney, Deputy of Ireland. By the way 
my lord entered familiarly into discourse with me, alleging 
that he was well acquainted with my lord of Murray, Lidding- 
ton, and my brother. Sir Robert ; and that he was by report 
so well acquainted with me, that he durst, upon the character 
he had heard of me, desire to know what the queen my mis- 
tress thought of him, and the marriage that Mr. Randolph had 
proposed. Whereunto I answered very coldly, as I had been 
by my queen commanded. Then he began to purge himself of 
so proud a pretense as to" marry so great a queen, declaring 
he did not esteem himself worthy to wipe her shoes; declar- 
ing that the invention of that proposition of marriage pro- 
ceeded from Mr. Cecil, his secret enemy. " For if I," says 
he, "should have appeared desirous of that marriage, I should 
have offended both the queens, and lost their favor." He 
intreated me to excuse him at her Majesty's hands, and to 
beg, in his name, that she would not impute that matter to 
him, but to the malice of his enemies. 

Being landed at London our dinner was prepared by the 
earl of Pembroke ; who, being great master, yet humbled him- 
self so far as to serve the said table as master of the house- 
hold himself. He was a devout friend to my queen's title of 
succeeding to the crown of England. 

The following passage describes Melville's second visit 
to Elizabeth's court, in 1565. 

All the while I lay within the castle of Edinburgh, praying 219. Mel- 
night and day for her Majesty's good and happy delivery of a '^'•l^'s an- 
fair son. This prayer being granted, I was the first who was to Elizabeth 
thereof advertised, by the lady Boin, in her Majesty's name, of the birth 
to part with diligence the 19th of June, 1565, betwixt ten and ° * ® " ""^^ 
eleven in the morning. By twelve of the clock I took horse, England 



382 Readings in English History 

and was that night at Berwick. The fourth day after, I was at 
London, and did first meet with my brother Sir Robert, who 
that same night sent and advertised Secretary Cecil of my 
arrival, and of the birth of the prince ; desiring him to keep 
it quiet till my coming to Court, to show it myself unto her 
Majesty, who was for the time at Greenwich, where her Maj- 
esty was in great mirth, dancing after supper. But so soon as 
Secretary Cecil whispered in her ear the news of the prince's 
birth, all her mirth was laid aside for that night ; all present 
marveling whence proceeded such a change, for the queen 
did sit down, putting her hand under her cheek, bursting out 
to some of her ladies that the queen of Scots was mother of 
a fair son, while she was but a barren stock. 
Elizabeth's The next morning was appointed for me to get audience, 

real regret ^^ ^^<^ Xvcd^ my brother and I went by water to Greenwich, 
joy at the ^^''^ were met by some friends who told us how sorrowful her 
birth of Majesty was at my news ; but that she had been advised to 

arysson ghow a glad and cheerful countenance, which she did, in her 
best apparel, saying that the joyful news of the queen her 
sister's delivery of a fair son, which I had sent her by Secretary 
Cecil, had recovered her out of a heavy sickness which she had 
lyen under for fifteen days. Therefore she welcomed me with 
a merry volt, and thanked m& for the diligence I had used in 
hasting to give her that welcome intelligence. 



11. The Struggle with the Catholics 

The imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots in Eng- 
land, the rebelliofi in the north of England in her favor, 
the work of the Jesuit missionaries in trying to win Eng- 
land back to Catholicism, the establishment of Roman 
Catholic colleges for Englishmen on the Continent, and 
several other causes, combined to make religious con- 
flicts more bitter after about 1570. In that year, there- 
fore, the pope finally issued the following declaration of 
excommunication and deposition of Elizabeth, 



The Reign of Elizabeth 383 

Pius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for the future 220. Bull of 
memory of the matter. Sblth *"* 

He who reigns in the highest, to whom has been given all (1570) 
power in heaven and earth, in the plenitude of his power 
has given the governance of one holy Catholic and apostolic 
church, outside of which there is no salvation, to one upon 
earth, that is to say, to Peter, prince of the apostles, and to the 
Roman pontiff, the successor of Peter. Him alone has he ap- 
pointed prince over all nations and all kingdoms, to pluck out, 
to overthrow, to scatter, to destroy, to plant, to build up, in 
order that he may keep his people faithful in the unity of the 
spirit, bound with the bond of mutual love, and that he may 
deliver them unharmed to their Saviour. In the fufillment of 
this duty, we, called by the grace of God to the government 
of the same church, have neglected no labor, striving with all 
our strength that the unity and entirety of that church should 
remain unbroken, which its founder has for the testing of our 
faith and our correction permitted to be smitten by so many 
storms. But the number of the wricked has so increased in 
strength that there is no place left upon earth which they have 
not tried to corrupt with the most evil teachings. 

Assistance has been given them among others, by Elizabeth, Wicked doings 
servant of evil doers, pretended queen of England, to whom as ascribed to 
to an asylum the most wicked of all have come for refuge. 
She, after she had gained the throne, usurped to herself mon- 
strously the place of supreme head of the church in all Eng- 
land and the principal authority and jurisdiction in it ; and 
called back again to miserable destruction that realm which 
had but just then been restored to the Catholic faith and good 
fruit. For she has taken away by a violent hand the use of 
true religion which had been previously overthrown by the 
apostate Henry VHI, but restored by the legitimate Queen 
Mary, of distinguished memory, with the help of this see ; she 
has followed and embraced the errors of heretics ; she has dis- 
sipated the royal council, formed of the English nobility, and 
filled it with obscure men who are heretics. She has oppressed 
holders of the Catholic faith ; she has restored agitators and 
dealers in impieties ; she has abolished the sacrifice of the 



384 Readings in English History 

mass^ prayers, fastings, choice of foods, celibacy, and Catholic 
rites ; she has commanded books which contain manifest her- 
esy to be spread through the whole kingdom ; she has required 
services which are impious and instituted according to the pre- 
scriptions of Calvin to be accepted and observed by herself 
and to be acknowledged by her subjects. 

She has ventured to eject bishops, rectors of churches, 
and other Catholic priests from their churches and benefices, 
and to confer their goods and other ecclesiastical possessions 
upon heretics, and to give decisions concerning ecclesiastical 
causes. She has forbidden prelates, clergy, and people to ac- 
knowledge the Roman church or to obey its precepts and 
The oath of canonical sanctions. She has -compelled by an oath very many 
supremacy ^^ agree to her wicked laws and to abjure the authority and 
obedience of the Roman pontiff, and to recognize her alone as 
mistress in temporal and spiritual affairs ; she has imposed pains 
and penalties upon those who were not obedient to her word 
and those who persevered in the aforesaid obedience and in the 
unity of the faith. Catholic bishops and rectors of churches she 
has cast into bonds, where many, worn out by long-continued 
weariness and sadness, have finished their days miserably. 

Since all these things are familiar and well known among 
all nations and so well established by the strongest testimony 
of many men that there is no place left for any excuse, defense, 
or denial ; and since other crimes and impieties are being mul- 
tiplied, and the persecution of the faithful and the affliction of 
religion daily growing by the influence and the action of the 
said Elizabeth ; and since her mind is, we understand, so con- 
firmed and hardened that not only has she treated with con- 
tempt the pious prayers and advice of Catholic princes for her 
well being and conversion, but has not permitted the ambas- 
sadors of this see to come to England to her on this matter ; 
we have been compelled to turn the arms of justice against her, 
though we cannot subdue our grief that we are required to take 
action against one whose forefathers have merited so much 
from the Christian commonwealth. 

And so, supported by the authority of him who has willed that 
we should be placed in .this supreme throne of justice, though 



The Reigji of Elisabeth 385 

unequal to such a burden, out of the plenitude of apostolic Elizabeth de- 
power we declare the aforesaid Elizabeth a heretic and a favorer ? ^""^^ ^° f ^ 

^ . heretic and 

of heretics, and those who adhere to her in the aforesaid matter deprived of 
to have incurred the sentence of anathema, and to be cut off the right to 
from the unity of the body of Christ. Moreover she is deprived ["„^'" "^" 
of her pretended right to the aforesaid kingdom and to all 
dominions, dignity, and privileges whatsoever of every kind. 
Likewise the nobles, subjects, and people of the said kingdom, 
and all others who have taken an oath to her of any kind we 
absolve by the authority of these presents and declare them 
absolved perpetually for the future from all duty, fidelity, and 
obedience due. We deprive the same Elizabeth of the pre- The queen's 
tended right to the kingdom and to all the things named above ; subjects for- 

. bidden to 

and we require and order each and all nobles, subjects, people, obey her 
and others above said, not to venture to obey her instructions, 
mandates, or laws. Those who shall act differently we bind with 
the same sentence of anathema. 

Because, however, it would be too diiTicult to take the present 
writings wherever there is need of them, we will that copies of 
them, signed with a seal by the hand of a notary public and of 
a prelate of the church or of his court, should obtain the same 
confidence in court and out of it among all nations as these 
presents would if they should be exhibited or shown. 

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the Lord's in- 
carnation, 1570, the fifth of the Calends of March, in the fifth 
year of our pontificate. 

In retaliation for the bull and other Roman Catholic 
activity, the English government began to treat the Eng- 
lish Catholics more harshly. One of the first steps was 
an attempt to show^ that if they were faithful to the pope 
they were necessarily traitors to the queen. The follow- 
ing questions were ordered to be submitted to such men 
as were suspected of being Roman Catholics. 

I . Whether the bull of Pius V against the queen's Majesty 
be a lawful sentence, and ought to be obeyed by the subjects 
of England? 



386 Readings in EnglisJi History 

221. Ques- 2. Whether the queen's Majesty be a lawful queen and ought 

tions sub- j.^ y^^ obeyed by the subjects of England, notwithstanding the 
mitted to , ,, . ^/ ^_ -^ , 1 ,, 1 , , , 

English bull of Pius V or any other bull or sentence that the pope hath 

Roman Cath- pronounced, or may pronounce, against her Majesty? 

oicsto est ^^ Whether the pope has, or had, power to authorize the 
earls of Northumberland, Westmoreland, and others of her 
Majesty's subjects, to rebel, or take arms against her Majesty ; 
or to authorize Dr. Saunders or others to invade Ireland, or 
any other of her dominions, and to bear arms against her, and 
whether they did therein lawfully, or not ? 

4. Whether the pope hath power to discharge any of her 
Highness' subjects, or the subjects of any Christian prince, 
from their allegiance or oath of obedience to her Majesty or 
to their prince for any cause? 

5. Whether the said Dr. Saunders, in his book the Visible 
Monarchy of the Church, and Dr. Bristowe, in his book of 
Motives, written in allowance, commendation, and confirma- 
tion of the said bull of Pius V, have therein taught, testified, or 
maintained a truth or a falsehood ? 

6. If the pope do by his bull or sentence pronounce her 
Majesty to be deprived and no lawful queen, and her subjects 
to be discharged of their allegiance and obedience unto her, 
and, after, the pope or any other of his appointment and au- 
thority do invade this realm, which part would you take, or 
which part ought a good subject of England to take? 

Two typical sets of answers follow, one in which the 
person questioned declares his entire loyalty to the queen, 
another in which he expresses grave doubts concerning 
his duty, yet may be loyal. The second is countersigned 
by the royal officials who submitted the questions. 

222. Answers To the first he sayth, that he thinketh the bull of Pius V 

of Henry ^,^g ^^ ^^ \vca& a lawful sentence, or of force to binde any of 
Orton 

her Majestie's subjects, and that notwithstanding, her Majestic 

was and is to be obeyed by every of her subjects. 

To the second, he thinketh that her Majestie is to be holden 

for lawfuU queene of this realm, and ought to be obeyed by all 



The Reign of Elizabeth 387 

her subjects, notwithstanding any thing that the pope eyther 
hath done, or can doe. 

To the third, he thinketh the pope neither hath nor had au- 
thoritie to warrant any of the persons here named, to doe as they 
have done, or any other of her subjects, to take armes against 
her Majestic, and that those which have taken armes against 
her, upon that, or the like warrant, have done unlawfully. 

To the fourth, he thinketh the pope hath no authoritie to 
discharge any subject from his allegiance and obedience to 
his prince. 

To the fifth, he thinketh that Dr. Saunders and Dr. Bris- 
towe have, in the poyntes mentioned in this article, taught and 
maintayned an untruth and a falshood. 

To the last, he sayth, that in the case here supposed, he 

would take part with her Majestic against the pope, or any 

other invading the realme by his authoritie. 

Henry Orton 

To the first, he saith, that it is a difficult question, and that 223. Answers 
he cannot make ansvvere thereto. °* J"'^^ ^^^ 

To the second, hee saith, that her majestic is lawful queene, 
and ought to be obeyed, notwithstanding the bul supposed to 
be published by Pius V. But whether she ought to be obeyed 
and taken for lawful queene, notwithstanding any bul or sen- 
tence that the pope can give, he saith, he cannot answere. 

To the third, he cannot answere, and further saith, that he 
will not meddle with any such questions. 

To the fourth, he saith, he is not resolved, and therefore 
he cannot answere. 

To the fifth, he saith, he will not deale with any such ques- 
tions, and knoweth not whether Saunders and Bristowe have 
taught wel herein or not. 

To the last, he saith, that when such a case shall happen, 
he will then advise what becommeth him to do, for presently 
he is not resolved. 

This hee did acknowledge to us, after hee had fully perused 
the same, but refused to subscribe to it. 

John Popham Thos. Egerton Da. Lewis John Hammond 



388 Readings in English History 

The following are sad narratives of executions of 
Roman Catholic priests or Jesuits under the new treason 
laws passed under Queen Elizabeth. The first describes 
the execution in 1581 of Edmund Campion, a Jesuit, and 
his two companions, Ralph Sherwin and Alexander Brian, 
seminary priests ; the second, that of Robert Johnson, 
also a graduate of the seminary at Douai, who, with two 
others, Fathers Ford and Shert, was executed May 28, 

1582 ; the third, that of William Hart, a seminary priest, 
educated at Douai, Rheims, and Rome, returning to 
England for missionary work and executed at York in 

1583 ; the last, that of James Fenn, an Oxford graduate 
and a married man, who, holding Roman Catholic opin- 
ions, went to Rheims to be ordained a priest, returned 
to England afterwards, and was executed in 1 584. These 
accounts were gathered from the reports of eyewitnesses. 
The terrible punishment then inflicted for treason con- 
sisted of "hanging, drawing, and quartering." In hang- 
ing, a man was either placed on a cart and driven under 
the gallows till the noose was adjusted, when the cart 
was driven away, or required to climb a ladder for the 
same purpose, the ladder being then turned over so that 
the man should fall. " Drawing " was removing the body 
from the gallows before life was extinct, opening it, and 
throwing the entrails into a fire. "Quartering" was 
severing the limbs from the trunk and sending them to 
be placed in various conspicuous places connected with 
the life of the traitor, as an additional humihation to 
him and a warning to others. 

At his first racking, they went no further with him ; but 
afterwards, when they saw he could not be won to condescend 
somewhat at least in religion, which was the thing they most 



TJie Reign of Elizabeth 389 

desired, they thought good to forge matter of treason against 224. Exe- 
him, and framed their demands accordingly ; about which he cution of 

' ,1 Edmund 

was so cruelly torn and rent upon the torture, the two last campion and 

times, that he told a friend of his, that found means to speak two com- 

with him, that he thought they meant to make him away in Fj*°8°x°^ 

that manner. Before he went to the rack, he used to fall down 

at the rack-house door upon both knees, to commend himself 

to God's mercy ; and upon the rack he called continually upon 

God, repeating often the holy name of Jesus. . . . 

They were drawTi from the Tower to Tyburn, there to be 
martyr 'd for the Catholic faith and religion. Father Campion 
was alone on one hurdle, and the other two together on an- 
other, all molested by ministers and others, calling upon them 
by the way for their subversion ; and by some also, as oppor- 
tunity serv'd, comforted ; and Father Campion especially con- 
sulted by one in some cases of conscience and religion ; and 
the mire, wherewith he was all spatter'd, most courteously 
wiped off his face. 

When they were come to the place of execution, where 
divers of her • Majesty's honorable council, with many other 
persons of honor, besides an infinite multitude of people, at- 
tended their coming, Father Campion was first brought up 
into the cart ; where, after some small pause, he began to 
speak upon that text of St. Paul, i. Cor. iv. 9 : We are made 
a spectacle to the world, etc.; but was interrupted by Sir Francis 
Knowles and the sheriffs, urging him to confess his treason 
against her Majesty and to acknowledge himself guilty : to 
whom he answer'd, " For the treasons which have been layd 
to my charge, and I am come here to suffer for, I desire you 
all to bear witness with me, that thereof I am altogether inno- 
cent." Whereupon answer was made to him by one of the 
council, that he should not seem to deny the objections against 
him, having been proved by sufficient evidence. " Well, my 
lord," said he, " I am a Catholic man, and a priest; in that 
faith have I lived, and in that faith do I intend to die ; and . 
if you esteem my religion treason, then am I guilty ; as for any 
other treason, I never committed it, God is my judge. But you 
have now what you desire ; I beseech you to have patience. 



390 Readings in English History 

and suffer me to speak a word or two for c'ischarge of my 
conscience." But not being suffer'd to go forward, he was 
forced to speak only to that point which they most urged, 
protesting that he was innocent of all treason and conspiracy; 
desiring credit to be given to his answers, as to the last an- 
swer made upon his death and soul. . . . 

They pressed him to declare his opinion of Pius the Fifth 
his bull concerning the excommunication of the queen. To 
which demand he gave no answer. Then they ask'd, whether 
he renounced the pope. He answered, he was a Catholic : 
whereupon one inferr'd, saying, " In your Catholicism all 
treason is contain'd." In fine, preparing himself to drink his 
last draught of Christ's cup, he was interrupted in his prayer 
by a minister, willing him to say some prayer with him ; unto 
whom, looking back with a mild countenance, he meekly 
reply'd : " You and I are not one in religion, wherefore I pray 
you content yourself. I barr none of prayer, only I desire them 
of the household of faith to pray with me, and in my agony to 
say one creed." . . . 

Some also called to him to pray in English ; to whom he 
answer'd, that he would pray in a language he well understood. 
At the upshot of this conflict he was willed to ask the queen 
forgiveness, and to pray for her ; he meekly answered ; " Where- 
in have I offended her? In this I am innocent; this is my 
last speech ; in this give me credit : I have and do pray for 
her." Then the lord Charles Howard ask'd of him, for which 
queen he prayed, whether for Elizabeth the queen ? To whom 
he answered, "Yea, for Elizabeth your queen and my queen." 
And the cart being drawn away, he meekly and sweetly 
yielded his soul unto his Saviour, protesting that he died a 
perfect Cathohc. 

225. Exe- Being brought from the hurdle, he was commanded to look 

cution of upon Mr. Shert, who was hanging, and then immediately cut 
son (1^82) down : and so being help'd into the cart, he was commanded 
again to look back towards Mr. Shert, who was then in quarter- 
ing. And after he had turned and sign'd himself with the sign 
of the cross, saying, In nomine patris, etc. " Dispatch," quoth 



The Reign of Elizabeth 391 

the sheriff, "and speak quietly." "I would be sorry," an- 
swered Mr. Johnson, " to trouble or offend your worship." 
" You shall not offend me," saith the sheriff, " so that you 
offend not God." Johnson. " I am a Catholic, and am con- 
demn'd for conspiring the queen's death at Rheims, with the 
other company who were condemn'd with me. I protest, that 
as for some of them with whom I was condemn'd to have 
conspired withal, I did never see them before we met at the 
barr, neither did I ever write unto them, or receive letters 
from them : and as for any treasons, I am not guilty in deed 
nor thought." . . . 

Shei-iff. " Dost thou acknowledge the queen for lawful queen ? 
Repent thee, and notwithstanding thy traitorous practices, we 
have authority from the queen to carry thee back." 

Johnson. " I do acknowledge her as lawful as Queen Mary 
was. I can say no more ; but pray to God to give her grace, 
and that she may now stay her hand from shedding of inno- 
cent blood." 

Sheriff. " Dost thou acknowledge her supreme head of the 
church in ecclesiastical matters? " 

Johnson. " I acknowledge her to have as full and great 
authority as ever Queen Mary had ; and more with safety and 
conscience I cannot give her." 

Shei-iff. ''Thou art a traitor most obstinate." 

Johnson. " If I be a traitor for maintaining this faith, then 
all the kings and queens of this realm heretofore, and all our 
ancestors, were traitors, for they maintain'd the same." 

SJieriff. "What ! You will preach treason also, if we suffer 
you ! " 

Johnson. " I teach but the Catholic religion." 

Hereupon the rope was put about his neck, and he was 
willed to pray, which he did in Latin. They willed him to pray 
in English, that they might witness with him ; he said, " I 
pray that prayer which Christ taught, in a tongue I well 
understand." A minister cried out, " Pray as Christ taught " : 
to whom Mr. Johnson replied, " What ! do you think Christ 
taught in English?" He went on, saying in Latin his 
Pater, Ave, and Creed, and In nianiis tuas, ete. And so the 



392 Readmgs in English History 

cart was drawn away, and he finish'd this life as the rest did. 
They all hang'd until they were dead, and so were cut down 
and quarter'd. 

226. Exe- The six last days before execution, he prepared himself for 

^*|°'^ °* his exit by a rigorous fast, spending withal whole nights in 
Hart (1583) prayer and contemplation, and ardently wishing for that happy 
hour that should eternally unite him to the sovereign object of 
his love. When he was brought out of his dungeon on the day 
he was to suffer he took his leave of the Catholic prisoners, 
earnestly recommending his last conflict to their prayers : then 
addressing himself to the chief jailer, he bid him farewell, 
thanking him for his kindnesses, though indeed he had met 
with little or no kindness or favor from him. Being fastened 
down upon the hurdle, he was drawn thro' the streets to the 
place of execution, having his eyes fix'd upon heaven, and his 
soul in silence attentive to God. Before he came to the gal- 
lows, he was met by two ministers, Mr. Bunny and Mr. Pace, 
who made it their business to affront him, and to persuade the 
people that he did not die for his religion, but for treason. 
As soon as he arrived at the place, he cheerfully went up the 
ladder, and began to pray in silence. They ask'd him if he 
prayed for the queen. He answered, that he had always 
prayed for her to that day, and as long as he lived would not 
cease to pray for her ; that he willingly acknowledged her for 
his sovereign, and professed a ready obedience to her, in all 
things which were not inconsistent with the Catholic religion. 
Then Mr. Bunny step'd out and read aloud to the people 
the bull of Pius V ; by which he had excommunicated the 
queen, etc., pretending thereby to prove that Mr. Hart must 
needs be a traitor ; and that the business of his coming over 
was to withdraw her Majesty's subjects from their allegiance. 
Mr. Hart answered, in short, that far from having any such 
thoughts, he had ever prayed for the queen's safety, and the 
happy state of the kingdom. But Mr. Pace was particularly 
troublesome to the holy confessor, continually loading him 
with reproaches and injuries. To which Mr. Hart made no 
other reply than this, •' Good Mr. Pace, be so kind as to 



The Reign of Elizabeth 393 

let me be quiet this short time I have to live"; which he 
several times repeated. Then lifting up his eyes to heaven, 
he began the psalm, Ad te levavi oculos meos, etc., but was 
again interrupted by the ministers, calling upon him to join 
with them in prayer, which he refused to do, telling them that 
his faith and theirs was not the same. But he desired the 
Catholics to pray for him, and to bear witness that he died in 
and for the Catholic faith, and not for any crime whatsoever, 
or treason against the state. With that he was thrown off the 
ladder ; and, according to sentence, was cut down alive and 
quarter'd. And tho' the Lord Mayor and other magistrates 
who were present at the execution sought to hinder the Cath- 
olics from carrying home with them any relics of the confessor, 
yet some there were who, in spite of all their precautions and 
threats, carried off some of his blood, or fragments of his 
bones, or pieces of his clothes, which they kept as treasures ; 
so great was the veneration they had for his virtue and the 
cause for which he died. 

Having receiv'd sentence, he was carried to the Tower, 227. Exe- 

and there kept in a dungeon, loaded with irons, from Friday, cution of 

T r 1 • 1 • 11 TIT 1 1 r 1, ■ ,1 James Fenn 

the day of his condemnation, till Wednesday following, which (1584) 

was the day of his execution. In the meantime, Mr. Popham, 
the attorney general, and a doctor of the civil law, formerly 
school-fellow to Mr. Fenn, came to him to exhort him to 
comply and acknowledge the queen's authority and obey the 
laws ; promising, that if he would, they would use their best 
endeavours to save his life. The confessor told them, he wil- 
lingly acknowledg'd the queen's authority in all temporal 
matters ; but that he neither could nor would acknowledge 
her supreme head of the church, but only as one of the sheep, 
subject in spirituals to that shepherd to whom Christ committed 
his whole flock : and that he was ready to die in and for the 
profession of this faith. 

On the day of execution he was laid on a hurdle to be drawTi 
with his companions from the Tower to Tyburn. It was a 
moving spectacle to many to see his little daughter Frances, 
with many tears, take her last leave of her father upon this 



394 Readings in EnglisJi History 

occasion, whilst the good man, who had long since been dead 
to all things in this world, looking upon her with a calm and 
serene countenance, and lifting up his hands as well as he could, 
for they were pinion'd, gave her his blessing, and so was drawn 
away. At Tyburn he was not suffer'd to speak many words ; 
but after he had pray'd for a while, he only declared to the 
people his innocence of the crime that had been falsely laid to 
his charge in the court ; and then recommended himself and 
the queen, to whom he wish'd all manner of happiness, to 
God's mercy. And so the cart being drawn away, he was left 
hanging for a little while, and then cut down alive, bowell'd 
and quarter 'd. His quarters were disposed on four of the 
gates of the city, and his head upon London Bridge. 

III. Commerce and Explorations 

The voyage of Martin Frobisher with three vessels in 
search of the Northwest passage in 1576 was the first 
of a long series of such attempts. Some extracts from 
his logbook are here given. The queen was then living 
at Greenwich, and the expedition was watched by her 
and her court as it sailed down the Thames from Lon- 
don. They found icy seas and arctic lands and the 
Eskimos, but no Northwest passage around America. 

228. Voyage The 8th day being Friday, about 12 of the clocke we wayed 
of Frobisher ^<^ Detford, and set saile all three of us, and bare downe by 
the Court, where we shotte off our ordinance and made the 
June 8, 1576 best shew we could : Her Majestie beholding the same, com- 
mended it, and bade us farewell, with shaking her hand at us 
out of the window. Afterward shee sent a Gentleman aboord 
of us, who declared that her Majestie had good liking of our 
doings, and thanked us for it, and also willed our Captaine to 
come the next day to the Court to take his leave of her. 

The same day towards night Mr. Secretarie Woolly came 
aboorde of us, and declared to the company, that her Majestie 
had appointed him to give them charge to be obedient and 



TJie Reign of Elisabeth 395 

diligent to their Captaine and governours in all things, and 
wished us happie successe. . . . 

The 28. day in the morning was very foggie : but at the July 28, off 
clearing up of the fogge, wee had sight of lande, which I sup- ^ ^^ ""^ 
osed to be Labrador, with great store of yce about the land : 
I ranne in towards it, and sownded, but could get no ground 
at 100 fathom, and the yce being so thicke, I could not get to 
the shoare, and so lay off, and came cleare of the yce. Upon 
Munday we came within a mile of the shoare, and sought a 
harborowe. All the sownd was full of yce, and our boate row- 
ing ashoare, could get no ground at 100 fathom, within a 
Cable's length of the shoare : then we sailed Eastnortheast 
along the shoare, for so the land lyeth, and the currant is there 
great, setting Northeast and Southwest : and if we could have 
gotten anker ground, wee would have seene with what force it 
had runne, but I judge a ship may drive a league and a halfe, 
in one houre, with that tide. . . . 

The tenth I tooke foure men, and my selfe, and rowed to August 10 
shoare to an Island one league from the maine, and there the 
flood setteth Southwest alongest the shoare, and it floweth as 
neere as I could judge so too. I could not tarry to prove 
it, because the ship was a great way from me, and I feared 
a fogge. . . . 

The 19th day in the morning, being calme, and no winde, August 19 
the Captaine and I tooke our boate with eight men in her, to 
rowe us a shoare, to see if there were there any people, or no, 
and going to the toppe of the Island, we had sight of seven 
boates, which came rowing from the East side, toward that 
Island : whereupon we returned aboord againe : at length we 
sent our boate with five men in her, to see whither they rowed, 
and so with a white cloth brought one of their boates with 
their men along the shoare, rowing after our boate till such 
time as they sawe our ship, and then they rowed a shoare : 
then I went on shoare my selfe, and gave every of them a 
threadden point, and brought one of them aboord of me. The Eskimos 
where hee did eate and drinke, and then carried him on shoare 
againe. Whereupon all the rest came aboord with their boates, 
being nineteene persons, and they spake, but we understoode 



396 Rcadi)igs in English History 

them not. They bee like to Tartars, with long blacke haire, 

broad faces, and flatte noses, and tawnie in colour, wearing 

Seale skinnes, and so doe the women, not differing in the 

August 28 fashion, but the women are marked in the face with blewe 

they turn streekes down the cheekes, and round about the eyes. . . . 

back toward n^, r, 1 1 01 

England The 28th day we went our course Southeast. . . . 

September 25 The 25 th day of this moneth we had sight of the Island of 

Orkney, which was then East from us. 

The first day of October we had sight of the Sheld, and so 

sailed about the coast, and ankered at Yarmouth, and the next 

day we came into Harwich. 

The romantic adventures of Sir Francis Drake and 
his companions in their journey to the coasts of South 
America, through the straits of Magellan, up the west 
coast of South and North America, and on westward 
till they had circumnavigated the world and returned to 
England, are well told in the narrative of Thomas Caven- 
dish, one of Drake's companions on the voyage and the 
leader of a similar expedition some years later. 

229. A nana- The 15. day of November, in the yeere of our Lord 1577, 
tive of the -^^ Francis Drake, with a fleete of five ships and barkes, and 
Drake to the number of 164 men, gentlemen and sailers, departed 

(1577-1580) from Plimmouth, giving out his pretended voyage for Alex- 
andria : but the wind falling contrary, hee was forced the next 
morning to put into Falmouth haven in Cornewael, where such 
and so terrible a tempest tooke us, as few men have scene the 
like, and was in deed so vehement, that all our ships were like 
to have gone to wracke : but it pleased God to preserve us 
from that extremitie, and to afflict us onely for that present 
with these two particulars : The mast of our Admirall, which 
was the Pellican, was cut over boord for the safegard of the 
ship, and the Marigold was driven ashore and some-what 
bruised : for the repairing of which damages wee returned 
againe to Plimmouth, and having recovered those harmes, 
and brought the ships againe to good state, we set forth 



The Reign of Elizabeth 397 

the second time from Plimmouth, and set saile the 13. day 
of December following. 

The 25. day of the same moneth we fell with the Cape 
Cantin, upon the coast of Barbarie, and coasting along, the 
27. day we found an Island called Mogador, lying one mile 
distant from the maine, betweene which Island and the maine, 
we found a very good and safe harbour for our ships to ride in, 
as also very good entrance, and voyde of any danger. . , . 

From the first day of our departure from the Islands of First sight of 
Cape Verde, wee sayled 54 dayes without sight of land, and the ^''^^^^ if S. 
first land that we fell with was the coast of Brasil, which we 
saw the fift of April in ye height of 33. degrees towards the 
pole Antarctike, and being discovered at sea by the inhabit- 
ants of the countrey, they made upon the coast great fires for 
a sacrifice (as we learned) to the devils, about which they use' 
conjurations, making heepes of sande and other ceremonies, 
that when any ship shall goe about to stay upon their coast, 
not onely sands may be gathered together in shoales in every 
place, but also that stormes and tempests may arise, to the 
casting away of ships and men, whereof (as it is reported) 
there have bene divers experiments. . . . 

From hence we went our course to 36. degrees, and entered 
the great river of Plate, and ranne into 54. and 55. fadomes 
and a halfe of fresh water, where wee filled our water by 
the ship's side : But our Generall finding here no good har- 
borough, as he thought he should, bare out againe to sea the 
27. of April. . . . 

The twentieth of June, wee harboured our selves againe in • 
a very good harborough, called by Magellan Port St. Julian, 
where we found a gibbet standing upon the maine, which we 
supposed to be the place Magellan did execution upon some 
of his disobedient and rebellious company. . . . 

In this Port our Generall began to enquire diligently of the Court martial 
actions of M. Thomas Doughtie,and found them not to be such °^ Ttiomas 
as he looked for, but tending rather to contention or mutinie, 
or some other disorder, whereby (without redresse) the suc- 
cesse of the voyage might greatly have bene hazarded : where- 
upon the company was called together and made acquainted 



598 



Readings in E)iglish History 



The Strait of 
Magellan, 
first passed 
through by 
Magellan 
sixty years 
before 



with the particulars of the cause, which were found partly by 
master Doughtie's owne confession and partly by the evidence 
of the fact, to be true : which when our Generall saw, although 
his private affection to M. Doughtie (as hee then in the pres- 
ence of us all sacredly protested) was great, yet the care he 
had of the state of the voyage, of the expectation of her 
Majestie, and of the honour of his countrey did more touch 
him (as indeede it ought) then the private respect of one 
man : so that the cause being thoroughly heard, and all things 
done in good order as neere as might be to the course of our 
lawes in England, it was concluded that M. Doughtie should 
receive punishment according to the qualitie of the offence : 
and he seeing no remedie but patience for himselfe, desired 
before his death to receive the Communion, which he did at 
the hands of M. Fletcher our Minister, and our Generall him- 
selfe accompanied him in that holy action : which being done, 
and the place of execution made ready, hee having embraced 
our Generall and taken his leave of all the companie, with 
prayer for the Queene's majestie and our realme, in quiet sort 
laid his head to the blocke, where he ended his life. This being 
done, our Generall made divers speaches to the whole company, 
perswading us to unitie, obedience, love, and regard of our 
voyage ; and for the better confirmation thereof, willed every 
man the next Sunday following to prepare himselfe to receive 
the Communion, as Christian brethren and friends ought to 
doe, which was done in very reverent sort, and so with good 
contentment every man went about his businesse. 

The 17. day of August we departed the port of S. Julian, 
and the 20. day we fell with the streight or freat of Magellan 
going into the South sea, at the Cape or headland whereof 
we found the bodie of a dead man, whose flesh was cleane 
consumed. 

The 2 1 . day we entred the streight, which we found to have 
many turnings, and as it were shuttings up, as if there were no 
passage at all, by meanes whereof we had the wind often against 
us, so that some of the fleete recovering a Cape or point of 
land, others should be forced to turne back againe, and to 
come to an anchor where they could. 



Tlie Reign of Elizabeth 399 

In this streight there be many faire harbors, with store of 
fresh water, but yet they lacke their best commoditie : for the 
water is there of such depth, that no man shal find ground to 
anchor in, except it be in some narrow river or corner, or 
betweene some rocks, so that if any extreme blasts or con- 
trary winds do come (whereunto the place is much subject) it 
carieth with it no small danger. 

The land on both sides is very huge & mountainous, the 
lower mountains whereof although they be monstrous and won- 
derfull to looke upon for their height, yet there are others which 
in height exceede them in a strange maner, reaching themselves 
above their fellowes so high, that between them did appeare 
three regions of cloudes. These mountaines are covered with 
snow : at both the Southerly and Easterly partes of the streight 
there are Islands, among which the sea hath his indraught into 
the streights, even as it hath in the maine entrance of the freat. 

The streight is extreme cold, with frost and snow continu- 
ally ; the trees seeme to stoope with the burden of the weather, 
and yet are greene continually, and many good and sweete 
herbes doe very plentifully grow and increase under them. 

The- bredth of the streight is in some place a league, and in 
some other places 2. leagues, and three leagues, and in some 
other 4. leagues, but the narowest place hath a league over. 

The 24. of August we arrived at an Island in the streights, 
where we found great store of foule which could not flie, of the 
bignesse of geese, whereof we killed in lesse then one day 3000. 
and victualled our selves throughly therewith. 

The 6. day of September we entred the South sea at the 
Cape or head shore. . . . 

Our Generall seeing this stayed her no longer, but wayed 
anchor, and set sayle towards the coast of Chili, and drawing 
towards it, we mette neere to the shore an Indian in a Canoa, 
who thinking us to have bene Spaniards, came to us and tolde 
us, that at a place called S. lago, there was a great Spanish ship 
laden from the kingdome of Peru : for which good newes our 
Generall gave him divers trifles, wherof he was glad, and went 
along with us and brought us to the place, which is called the 
port of Valparizo. 



400 Readings in English History 

Surprise and ^Vhen we came thither, we found indeede the ship riding 
capture of a g^^- anker, having in her eight Spaniards and three Negros, who 
panis s ip ^j^jj^j^jj^g ^jg |.Q j^g^yg bcnc Spaniards and their friends, wel- 
commed us with a drumme, and made ready a Bottija of wine 
of ChiH to drinke to us : but as soone as we were entred, one 
of our company called Thomas Moone began to lay about him, 
and strooke one of the Spanyards, and sayd unto him, " Abaxo 
Perro," that is in English, " Goe downe dogge." One of these 
Spaniards seeing persons of that quality in those seas, all to 
crossed, and blessed himselfe : but to be short, wee stowed 
them under hatches all save one Spaniard, who suddenly and 
desperately leapt over boord into the sea, and swamme ashore 
to the towne of S. lago, to give them warning of our arrivall. 

They of the towne being not above 9. households, presently 
fled away and abandoned the towne. Our generall manned his 
boate, and the Spanish ships boate, and went to the Towne, 
and being come to it, we rifled it, and came to a small chappell 
which wee entred, and found therin a silver chalice, two cruets, 
and one altar-cloth, the spoyle whereof our Generall gave to 
M. Fletcher, his minister. . . . 

Not farre from hence going on land for fresh water, we met 
with a Spaniard and an Indian boy driving 8. Llamas or sheepe 
of Peru which are as big as asses ; every of which sheepe had 
on his backe 2. bags of leather, each bagge conteining 50. li. 
weight of fine silver : so that bringing both the sheepe and 
their burden to the ships we found in all the bags 800. weight 
of silver. 

Here hence we sailed to a place called Arica, and being 
entred the port, we found there three small barkes which we 
rifled, and found in one of them 57 wedges of silver, each of 
them weighing about 20 pound weight, and every of these 
wedges were of the fashion and bignesse of a brickbat. In 
all these 3 barkes we found not one person : for they mistrust- 
ing no strangers, were all gone aland to the Towne which con- 
sisteth of about twentie houses, which we would have ransacked 
if our company had bene better and more in number. But our 
Generall contented with the spoyle of the ships, left the Towne 
and put off againe to sea and set sayle for Lima, and by the 



The Reign of Elizabeth 401 

way met with a small barke, which he boorded, and found in 
her good store of linnen cloth, whereof taking some quantitie, 
he let her goe. . . . 

Our generall at this place and time, thinking himselfe both 
in respect of his private injuries received from the Spaniards 
as also of their contempts and indignities offered to our coun- 
trey and Prince in generall, sufficiently satisfied and revenged : 
and supposing that her majestie at his return would rest con- 
tented with this service, purposed to continue no longer upon 
the Spanish coasts, but began to consider and to consult of 
the best way for his Countrey. He thought it not good to re- Return by the 
turne by the streights ; he resolved therefore to avoyde these ^^P^ °^ ^^^^ 
hazards, to goe forward to the Islands of the Malucoer, and 
therehence to saile the course of the Portugals by the Cape 
of Buena Esperanza. ... 

, We arrived in England the third of November, 1580, being 
the third yeere of our departure. 

Such accounts as the two just given and many other 
narratives of voyages of exploration or adventure made 
by Englishmen were gathered up and published in 1589 
by a clergyman, Richard Hakluyt. His patriotic impulse 
to this is described in the following preface to his work, 
addressed to Secretary Walsingham. 

Right Honorable : 230. Preface 

I do remember that being a youth, and one of her Maiestie's *? ^^'^I^y*'^ 

1 r r n • • i Principal 

scholars at Westmmster, that fruitfull nurserie, it was my happe Navigations 
to visit the chamber of M. Richard Hakluyt my cosin, a Gen- (^589) 
tleman of the Middle Temple, well knowen unto you, at a time 
when I found lying open upon his boord certeine bookes of 
Cosmographie, with an universall Mappe : he seeing me some- 
what curious in the view thereof, began to instruct my igno- 
rance, by shewing me the division of the earth into three parts 
after the olde account, and then according to the latter, & 
better distribution, into more : he pointed with his wand to 
all the knowen Seas, Gulfs, Bayes, Straights, Capes, Rivers, 
Empires, Kingdomes, Dukedomes, and Territories of ech part, 



402 Readings in English History 

with declaration also of their speciall commodities, & particu- 
lar wants, which by the benefit of traffike, and entercourse 
of merchants, are plentifully supplied. From the Mappe he 
brought me to the Bible, and turning to the 107 Psalme, di- 
rected mee to the 23 & 24 verses, where I read, that they 
which go downe to the sea in ships, and occupy by the great 
waters, they see the works of the Lord, and his woonders in 
the deepe, &c. Which words of the Prophet together with my 
cousin's discourse (things of high and rare delight to my young 
nature) tooke in me so deepe an impression, that I constantly 
resolved, if ever I were preferred to the University, where 
better time and more convenient place might be minstred 
for these studies, I would by God's assistance prosecute that 
knowledge and kinde of literature, the doores whereof (after a 
sort) were so happily opened before me. . . . 
Extent of To speake a word of that just commendation which our 

English explo- n^^ion doe indeed deserve : it cannot be denied, but as in 

ration, trade, .,,... 

and diplomacy all former ages, they have bene men full of activity, stirrers 
abroad, and searchers of the remote parts of the world, so in 
this most famous and peerleese governement of her most excel- 
lent Majesty, her subjects through the speciall assistance, and 
blessing of God, in searching the most opposite corners and 
quarters of the world, and to speake plainly, in compassing 
the vaste globe of the earth more then once, have excelled all 
the nations and people of the earth. For, which of the kings 
of this land before her Majesty had theyr banners ever scene 
in the Caspian sea? Which of them hath ever dealt with the 
Emperor of Persia, as her Majesty hath done, and obteined 
for her merchants large and loving privileges? Who ever saw 
before this regiment, an English Ligier in the stately porch of 
the Grand Signor at Constantinople? Who ever found English 
Consuls & Agents at Tripolis in Syria, at Aleppo, at Babylon, 
at Dalsara, and which is more, who ever heard of Englishman 
at Goa before now? what English Shippes did heeretofore 
ever anker in the mighty river of Plate ? passe and repasse the 
unpassable (in former opinion) straight of Magellan, range 
along the coast of Chili, Peru, and all the backside of Nova 
Hispania, further then any Christian ever passed, travers the 



The Reign of Elizabeth 403 

mighty bredth of the South sea, land upon the Luzones in 
despight of the enemy, enter into alliance, amity, and traffike 
with the princes of the Moluccaes, & the Isle of Java, double 
the famous Cape of Bona Speranza, arive at the Isle of Santa 
Helena, & last of al returne home most richly laden with 
the commodities of China, as the subjects of this now florish- 
ing monarchy have done? . . . 



/ IV. Mary Queen of Scots and the Armada 

The following letter from Elizabeth to James VI of 
Scotland, which was written by her own hand, and in 
which she disavows all responsibility for the execution of 
James' mother, Mary Queen of Scots, is a better illus- 
tration of Elizabeth's deceit than it is of the real history 
of the time. She was certainly responsible for the exe- 
cution of Mary. 

My deare Brother : 231. Eliza- 

I would you knewe (though not felt) the extreme dolor that -^^^^l ^^ 
overwhelms my mind for that miserable accident which (far of Scotland 
contrary to my meaninge) hath befalen. I have now sent this 
kinsman of mine, whom ere now yt hath pleased yow to favor, 
to instruct yow trewly of that which ys to yerksom for my 
penne to tell yow. I beseche yow that as God and many moe 
knowe, how innocent I am in this case ; so you will believe me, 
that yf I had bid ought I owld have bid by yt. I am not so 
bace minded that feare of any livinge creature or prince should 
make me afrayde to do that were just, or don to denye the same. 
I am not of so base a linage, nor cary so vile a minde. But, as 
not to disguise, fits not a kinge, so will I never dissemble my 
actions, but cawse them shewe even as I ment them. Thus 
assuringe yourself of me, that as I knowe this was deserved, yet 
yf I had ment yt I would never laye yt on others shoulders ; 
no more will I not damnifie my selfe, that thought yt not. 

The circumstance yt may please yow to have of this bearer. 
And for your part, thincke yow have not in the world a more 



404 Readings in English History 

lovinge kinswoman, nor a more deare frend that my self; nor 
any that will watch more carefully to preserve yow and your 
estate. And who shall otherwise perswade yow, judge them 
more partiall to others then yow. And thus in hast I leave to 
treble yow ; besechinge God to send yow a longe reign. The 
14th of Feb., 1587. 

Your most assured lovinge sister 
and cosin 

Elizab., R. 

The two following official letters, written in the midst 
of the fight with the Spanish Armada, show the success 
of the English, but at the same time their difficulties for 
want of ammunition and food, and the great danger 
to England if the weather and other chances had not 
favored her. 

232. Admiral Sir : 

Howard to j ^yj^j -^q^ trouble you with any long letter ; we are at this 

Walsingham present otherwise occupied than with writing. Upon Friday, at 
Plymouth, I received intelligence that there were a great num- 
ber of ships descried off of the Lizard, whereupon, although 
the wind was very scant, we first warped out of harbor that 
night, and upon Saturday turned out very hardly, the wind 
being at southwest ; and about three of the clock in the after- 
noon descried the Spanish fleet, and did what we could to work 
for the wind, which by this morning we had recovered, descrying 
their fleet to consist of 120 sail, whereof there are 4 galeasses 
and many ships of great burden. 

At nine of the clock we gave them fight, which continued 
until one. In this fight we made some of them to bear room 
to stop their leaks; notwithstanding we durst not adventure 
to put in among them, their fleet being so strong. But there 
shall be nothing either neglected or unhazarded that may work 
their overthrow. 

Sir, the captains in her Majesty's ships have behaved 
themselves most bravely and like men hitherto, and I doubt 
not will continue, to their great commendation. And so, 



The Reign of Elizabeth 405 

recommending our good success to your godly prayers, I 
bid you heartily farewell. From aboard the Ark, thwart of 
Plymouth, the 21st of July, 1588. 

Your very loving friend, 

C. Howard. 

Sir, the southerly wind that brought us back from the coast 
of Spain brought them out. God blessed us with turning us 
back. Sir, for the love of God and our country let us have with 
speed some great shot sent us of all bigness ; for this service 
will continue long ; — and some powder with it. 

Right Honorable : 233. Captain 

The bearer came aboard the ship I was in in a 'wonderful gg^^gt ° 
good time, and brought with him as good knowledge as we Waisingham 
could wish. His carefulness therein is worthy recompense, for 
that God hath given us so good a day in forcing the enemy 
so far to leeward as I hope in God the prince of Parma and 
the duke of Sidonia shall not shake hands these few days ; 
and whensoever they shall meet, I believe neither of them will 
greatly rejoice of this day's service. The town of Calais hath 
seen some part thereof, whose mayor her Majesty is beholden 
unto. Business commands me to end. God bless her Majesty, 
our gracious sovereign, and give us all grace to live in his fear. 
I assure your honor this day's service hath much appalled the 
enemy, and no doubt but encouraged our army. From aboard 
her Majesty's good ship the Revenge, this 29th of July, 1588. 
Your Honor's most ready to be commanded, 

Fra. Drake. 

There must be great care taken to send us ammunition and 
victuals whithersoever the enemy goeth. 

Yours, 

Fra. Drake. 

Admiral Hov^^ard planned to follovi' the Spanish fleet 
up through the North Sea till it should be destroyed or 
scattered, but finding the English vessels short of 



4o6 



Readings in EnglisJi History 



234. Agree- 
ment of the 
captains 
(August I, 
1588) 



provisions and ammunition, called a council of the cap- 
tains at which the following agreement was made. 

We whose names are hereunder written have determined 
and agreed in council to follow and pursue the Spanish fleet 
until we have cleared our own coast and brought the Frith 
west of us ; and then to return back again, as well to revictual 
our ships, which stand in extreme scarcity, as also to guard 
and defend our own coast at home ; with further protestations, 
that, if our want of victuals and ammunition were supplied, we 
would pursue them to the furthest that they durst have gone. 



C. Howard 
T. Howard 
Fra. Drake 

John Hawkyns 



Thomas Fenner 
George Cumberland 
Edmunde Sheffeylde 
Edw. Hoby 



The following narrative is by a young courtier, Robert 
Carey, who, hearing the news of the arrival of the Span- 
ish fleet, hurried away from court to take part in the 
fighting, and after the crisis was past returned to court, 
all within twelve days. 

235. Extracts The next yeare the king of Spain's great Armado came 

from the upon our coast, thinking to devour us all. Upon the newes 

memoirs of ^ , . , . ■ n 

Robert Carey sent to court from Phmouth of then certam arrivall, my Lord 

(1588) Cumberland and myselfe tooke post horse, and rode streight to 

Portsmouth, where we found a frigot that carried us to sea ; 

and having sought for the fleets a whole day, the night after 

wee fell amongst them : where it was our fortune to light first 

on the Spanish fleet ; and finding ourselves in the wrong, we 

tackt about, and in short time gott to our own fleet, which was 

not farre from the other. At our coming aboord our Admiral!, 

wee stay'd there awhile ; but finding the ship much pestered 

and scant of cabins, we left the Admirall and went aboord 

Captain Reyman, where wee stay'd and were very welcome, 

and much made of. 

It was on Thursday that wee came to the fleete. All that 

day wee followed close the Spanish Armado, and nothing was 



The Reign of Elizabeth 407 

attempted on either side : the same course wee held all Friday 
and Saturday, by which time the Spanish fleet cast anchor just 
before Calais. We likewise did the same, a very small distance 
behind them, and so continued till Munday morning about two 
of the clocke ; in which time our counsaile of warre had pro- 
vided six old hulkes and stuffed them full of all combustible 
matter fitt for burning, and on Monday at two in the morning 
they were left loose, with each of them a man in her to direct 
them. The tide serving they brought them very near the 
Spanish fleet, so that they could not misse to come amongst 
the midest of them ; then they set fire on them, and came off 
themselves, having each of them a little boate to bring him 
off. The ships set on fire, came so directly to the Spanish fleet, 
as they had no way to avoid them, but to cut all their halsers, 
and so escape*; and their haste was such that they left one of 
their four great galeasses on ground before Calais, which our 
men took and had the spoil of, where many of the Spaniards 
were slaine with the governour thereof, but most of them were 
saved with wading ashore to Calais. 

They being in this disorder, wee made ready to follow them. Sea fight 
where began a cruell fight, and wee had such advantage both t>efo''e Calais 
of wind and tide as wee had a glorious day of them ; contin- 
uing fight from foure o'clocke in the morning, till almost five 
or six at night, where they lost a douzen or fourteene of their 
best shippes, some sunke, and the rest ranne ashore in diverse 
parts to keep themselves from sinking. After God had given 
us this great victory, they made all the hast they could away, 
and wee followed them Tuesday and Wednesday, by which 
time they were gotten as farre as Flamboroughhead. It was 
resolved on Wednesday at night, that by four o'clocke on 
Thursday, wee should have a new fight with them for a fare- 
well ; but by two in the morning, there was a flagge of coun- 
saile hung out in our Vice-Admirall, when it was found that 
in the whole fleet there was not munition sufficient to make 
halfe a fight ; and therefore it was concluded that we should 
let them passe, and our fleet to return to the Downes. That 
night wee parted with them, wee had a mighty storme. Our 
fleet cast anchor, and endured it ; but the Spanish fleet, 



408 Readings iji English History 

wanting their anchors, were many of them cast ashore on the 
west of Ireland, where they had all their throates cutt by the 
kernes ; and some of them on Scotland, where they were no 
better used ; and the rest (with much adoe) gott into Spaine 
againe. Thus did God blesse us, and gave victory over this 
invincible navy ; the sea calmed, and all our shippes came to 
the Downes on Friday in safety. 

On Saturday my lord of Cumberland and myselfe came on 
shore, and took post horse and found the queene in her army 
at Tilbury campe, where I fell sick of a burning fever and was 
carried in a litter to London. 

V. Personal Characteristics of Elizabeth '~ 

The following passages bear u^itness to Elizabeth's 
proficiency in the languages and to her intellectual inter- 
ests generally. The specimens of her handwriting that 
have come down to us, however, hardly justify her 
teacher's praise. The first extract is from Roger Ascham, 
who had once been Elizabeth's teacher; the second, from 
a learned physician of the period. 

236. Roger It is your shame (I speak to you all, you yong Jentlemen 

Ascham's ^f England) that one Mayde (i.e. the Queen) should goe 
testimony to , ? ,. . „ \ , • ■, 1 , ■, r 

Elizabeth's beyond you all m excellency of learnmg and knowledge of 

learning divers tonges. Pointe forth six of the best geven Jentlemen 

of this Court, and all they togither shew not so much good 

will, spend not so much tyme, bestow not so many houres, 

dayly, orderly, and constantly, for the increase of learning and 

knowledg, as doth the Queene's Majestic herselfe. Yea, I be- 

leeve, that beside her perfit redines in Latin, Italian, French 

and Spanish, she readeth here now at Winsdore more Greeke 

every daye, then some Prebendarie of this Church doth read 

Latin in a whole weeke. And that which is most prayse worthy 

of all, within the walles of her privy chamber, she hath obtained 

that excellency of learning, to understand, speake and write 

both witely with head, and fayre with hand, as scarse one or 



The Reign of Elizabeth 409 

two rare wittes in both the Universyties have in many yeares 
reached unto. Amongest all the benefites that God hath blessed 
mee withall, next the knowledge of Christes true Religion, I 
count this the greatest, that it pleased God to call mee to be 
one poore Minister in setting forward these excellent giftes of 
learning in this most excellent Prince. Whose onely example, 
if the rest of our nobilitie would folowe, then might England 
bee, for learning and wisdome in nobilitie, a spectacle to all 
the world beside. 

As for your knowledge in the Latin tonge, xviij yeares ago 237. Dedica- 
or more I had in the duke of Somersettes house (beynge his ^^°° P* ^'"• 
Physition at that tyme) a good tryal thereof, when it pleased Turner's 
your grace to speake Latin unto me ; for I have both in Eng- Herbal 
land, lowe and highe Germanye, and other places of my longe 
traveil and pelgrimage, never spake with any noble or gentle 
woman that spake so wel and so much congrue, fyne, and pure 
Latin, as your grace did unto me so long ago. Sence whiche 
tyme howe muche and wounderfullye ye have proceded in the 
knowledge of the Latin tonge, and also profited in the Greke, 
Frenche, and Italian tonges and others also, and in all partes 
of Philosophic and good learninge, not onlye your owne fayth- 
full subiectes, beynge far from all suspicion of flattery bear wit- 
nes ; but also strangers, men of great learninge in their bokes 
set out in the Latin tonge, geve honorable testimony e. 

The 17th of November, the anniversary of the day of 
Elizabeth's accession, became during the latter part of 
her reign a regular festival, celebrated with constantly 
increasing enthusiasm. The following verses, first pub-, 
lished in 1578, were composed as a form of prayer to 
be used on that day. 

Lorde, keepe Elizabeth our Queene, 238. A form 

Defend her in her right ; of prayer to 

Shewe forth thyselfe as thou hast beene, ^^^ queen's 

Her fortresse and her might. festival day 

Preserve her Grace, confound her foes, 
And bringe them downe full lowe : 



410 Readings in English History 

Lorde turn thy hande against all those 
That would her overthrowe. 

Mayntaine her scepter as thine owne, 

For thou hast plaste her here : 
And let this mightie worke be knowne, 

To nations farre and nere. 
A noble ancient Nurse, O Lorde, 

In England let her raigne : 
Her Grace among us do afforde, 

For ever to remaine. 

Indue her, Lorde, with vertues store, 

Rule thou her royall Rod ; 
Into her minde thy spirit powre, 

And shevve thyselfe her God. 
In trueth upright, Lorde guide her still. 

Thy Gospell to defende : 
To say and do what thou doest will, 

And stay where thou doest ende. 

Her counsell, Lorde, vouchsafe to guide, 

With wisdome let them shine. 
In godlines for to abide, 

As it becommeth thine. 
To seeke the glorie of thy name. 

Their countries wealth procure. 
And that they may perfourme the same, 

Lorde graunt thy Spirit pure. 

The following speech was made by Elizabeth at Til- 
bury, on the Thames below London, when she had come 
to visit the army encamped there to meet the Spanish 
invaders who were coming with the Armada in 1588. 

239. A speech My Loving People : 

by Queen \,Yg have been perswaded by some that are careful of our 

(1588) safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed mul- 

titudes, for fear of treachery ; but I assure you, I do not desire 
to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. 



The Reign of Elizabeth 4 1 1 

Let tyrants fear ; I have always so behaved myself that, 
under God, I have placed my chief est strength and safeguard 
in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects, and therefore 
I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my 
recreation and disport, but being resolved in the midst and 
heat of the battle to live or die amongst you all, to lay down 
for my God and for my kingdoms and for my people, my honour 
and my blood, even in the dust. 

I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman ; 
but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of 
England, too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain or 
any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my 
realm; to which rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I 
myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, 
and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. 

I know already for your forwardness you have deserved A promise 
rewards and crowns ; and we do assure you on the word of ^hich the 

1 1 11 1. 1 1 -1 T 1 • queen after- 

a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the meantime my wards forgot 
lieutenant-general shall be in my stead, than whom never 
prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not 
doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your con- 
cord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly 
have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my 
kingdoms, and of my people. 

Occasionally one gets glimpses of the other side of 
Elizabeth's character, her ungratefulness and peevish- 
ness toward her faithful and devoted ministers, her 
coarseness and ill temper, as in the following letter. 

May it please your Lordship to understande, that yesterday 240. Sir 

yn the afternoone, I stoode by her Majestie, as she was att Robert Carey 
1 , , 1 r., ,1 1 , to his father, 

cards yn the presens chamber. She cawlde me too her, and lo^^ Huns- 
asked me, when you ment too go too Barwyke? I towlde hyr, don, Warden 

of the 
Marches 



that you determynde to begyn your journey presently after ° * ® 



Whytsontyd. She grew yntoo a grate rage, begynnynge with 
" Gods Wonds," that she wolde sett you by the feete, and 
sende another yn your place, if you dalyed with her thus ; for 



412 



Readings in English History 



241. Anec- 
dotes of the 
queen 



she wolde nott be thus dalyed with all. I towlde her, that 
with as much possyble speed as myght be, you wolde departe ; 
and that your lyyng att London thys fortnyght was too no 
other ende but to make provysion for your jorney. She 
anseryd me, that you have byn goynge from Crystmas too 
Ester, and from Ester to Whytsonday ; but if you differde the 
tyme any longer, she wolde appoynt some uther yn your place ; 
and thys message she commandyd me to sende you. 
Your L'ps humble and obedyent Sunne, 

R. Carey. 

The same characteristics are shown in the following 
anecdotes told by the Spanish ambassador. 

When the queen heard this she turned to Secretary Walsing- 
ham who was present, and said a few words to him . . . after 
which she threw a slipper at Walsingham and hit him in the face. 

Walsingham, in conversation lately with the queen, had much 
to say of the good parts and understanding of Alengon, whose 
only fault, he said, was his ugly face. She replied, " Well, you 
knave, why have you so often spoken ill of him? You veer 
around like a weathercock." 



242. Sir 
Henry Sidney 
to his son 
Philip 



VI. The Close of Elizabeth's Reign 

It is of course impossible, as it is unnecessary, to 
include any extended examples of the abundant litera- 
ture of this period. The following letter, however, from 
Sir Henry Sidney, an official in the service of the queen, 
to his son, then a boy at college, who afterwards became 
the celebrated Sir Philip Sidney, may be given as an 
example not only of the literary style but of the highest 
personal ideals of the time. 

Son Philip : 

I have received two letters from you, the one written in 
Latin, the other in French, which I take in good part, and will 
you to exercise that practice of learning often, for it will stand 



The Reign of Elizabeth 4 1 3 

you in stead in that profession of life which you are born to 
live in. And now, since that this is my first letter that did ever 
I write to you, I will not that it be all empty of some advices, 
which my natural care of you provoketh me to with you, to 
follow as documents to you in this tender age. Let your first 
action be the lifting up of your hands and mind to Almighty 
God, by hearty prayers, and feelingly digest the words you 
speak in prayer, with continual meditations and thinking of 
him to whom you pray ; and use this at an ordinary hour, 
whereby the time itself will put you in remembrance to do that 
thing which you are accustomed in that time. 

Apply to your study such hours as your discreet master doth Each student 
assign you earnestly, and the time, I know, he will so limit, as ^'^^ ^ special 
shall be both sufficient for your learning, and safe for your 
health ; and mark the sense and matter of that you read, as 
well as the words ; so shall you both enrich your tongue with 
words, and your wit with matter ; and judgment will grow as 
years grow on you. 

Be humble and obedient to your master ; for, unless you 
frame yourself to obey, yea, and to feel in yourself what obedi- 
ence is, you shall never be able to teach others how to obey 
you hereafter. 

Be courteous of gesture, and affable to all men with univer- 
sality of reverence, according to the dignity of the person : 
there is nothing that winneth so much with so little cost. 

Use moderate diet, so as after your meat you may find your 
wit fresher and not duller ; and your body more lively and not 
more heavy. 

Seldom drink wines, and yet sometimes do ; lest, being 
forced to drink upon the sudden, you should find yourself in- 
flamed. Use exercise of body, but such as is without peril of 
your bones or joints ; it will much increase your force and 
enlarge your breath. 

Delight to be cleanly, as well in all parts of your body, as in 
your garments ; it shall make you grateful in each company 
and otherwise loathsome. 

Give yourself to be merry ; for you degenerate from your 
father, if you find not yourself most able in wit and body to 



414 Readings in English History 

do anything, when you be most merry. But let your mirth 
be ever void of scuriUity and biting words to any man ; for a 
wound given by a word is harder to be cured than that which 
is given by a sword. 

Be you rather a hearer and a bearer away of other men's 
talk, than a beginner, or procurer of speech, otherwise you will 
be accounted to delight to hear yourself speak. 

Be modest in each assembly, and rather be rebuffed of light 
fellows for a maiden shamefacedness, than by your sober friends 
for pert boldness. 

Think upon every word you will speak before you utter it, 
and remember how nature hath, as it were, rampired up the 
tongue with teeth, lips, yea, and hair without the lips, and all 
betoken reins and bridles to the restraining use of that member. 

Above all things, tell no untruth, no not in trifles. The cus- 
tom of it is naught. And let it not satisfy you, that the hearers, 
for a time, take it for a truth ; for afterwards it will be known 
as it is to your shame ; and there cannot be a greater reproach 
to a gentleman than to be accounted a liar. 

Study and endeavour yourself to be virtuously occupied ; so 
shall you make such a habit of well doing as you shall not know 
how to do evil, though you would. 
Mary, Remember, my son, the noble blood you are descended of 

daughter of ^^y yQ^j. mother's side, and think, that only by a virtuous life 
Northumber- and good actions, you may be an ornament to your illustrious 
land family ; and otherwise, through vice and sloth, you may be es- 

teemed labcs generis, one of the greatest curses that can happen 
to a man. Well, my little Philip, this is enough for me, and I 
fear too much for you at this time ; but yet, if I find that this 
light meat of digestion do nourish anything the weak stomach 
of your young capacity, I will, as I find the same grow stronger, 
feed it with tougher food. Farewell ; your mother and I send 
you our blessing, and Almighty God grant you his ; nourish 
you with his fear, guide you with his grace, and make you a 
good servant to your prince and country. 

Your loving Father, 

Henry Sidney. 



TJie Reign of Elizabeth 415 

There is little doubt that Elizabeth lost some of her 
popularity before her death. One of the causes of this 
was the cupidity of some of her courtiers and others who 
had obtained from the queen what were then called 
"monopolies." These were, in some cases, trade privi- 
leges, like our modern patents and copyrights ; in others, 
the exclusive right to buy and sell, import and export, 
and otherwise deal in certain common articles. The 
matter was brought up in parliament in 1601, and the 
opposition was so outspoken that the queen thought best 
to yield to it, which she always knew how to do grace- 
fully. She therefore sent word that the monopolies would 
be investigated and the objectionable ones withdrawn. 
When the House of Commons came to thank her for this 
concession and to take leave of her on their dissolution, 
November 30, 1601, she delivered the following speech. 

Mr. Speaker : 243. Speech 

We perceive your coming is to present thanks unto us. °* Q"ee° 
T- T 1 • > 1 • , , Elizabeth 

Know i accept them with no less joy than your loves can to parlia- 

desire to offer such a present, and do more esteem it than ment (No- 
any treasure, or riches ; for these we know how to prize, but ^^"^^'' 3o. 
loyalty, love, and thanks, I account them invaluable ; and 
though God hath raised me high, yet this I account the glory 
of my crown, that I have reigned with your loves. This makes 
that I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a 
queen, as to be a queen over so thankful a people, and to be 
the means under God to conserve you in safety, and preserve 
you from danger, yea to be the instrument to deliver you from 
dishonour, from shame, and from infamy, to keep you from out 
of servitude, and from slavery under our enemies, and cruel 
tyranny, and vile oppression intended against us ; for the bet- 
ter withstanding whereof, we take very acceptably your intended 
helps, and chiefly in that it manifesteth your loves and large- 
ness of hearts to your sovereign. 



4i6 



Readings in English History 



The members 
of the House 
of Commons 
asked to rise 
from their 
knees 



Of myself I must say this, I never was any greedy scraping 
grasper, nor a strict fasting-holding prince, nor yet a waster ; 
my heart was never set upon any worldly goods, but only for 
my subjects' good. What you do bestow on me I will not hoard 
up, but receive it to bestow on you again ; yea mine own prop- 
erties I account yours to be expended for your good, and your 
eyes shall see the bestowing of it for your welfare. 

Mr. Speaker, I would wish you and the rest to stand up, for 
I fear I shall yet trouble you with longer speech. 

Mr. Speaker, you give me thanks, but I am more to thank 
you, and I charge you to thank them of the Lower House 
from me ; for had I not received knowledge from you, I 
might a' fallen into the lapse of an error, only for want of 
true information. 

Since I was queen, yet did I never put my pen to any grant 
but upon pretext and semblance made me, that it was for the 
good and avail of my subjects generally, though a private profit 
to some of my ancient servants, who have deserved well ; but 
that my grants shall be made grievances to my people, and 
oppressions, to be privileged under color of our patents, our 
princely dignity shall not suffer it. 

When I heard it, I could give no rest unto my thoughts 
until I had reformed it, and those varlets, lewd persons, abusers 
of my bounty, shall know I will not suffer it. , . . 

And in my governing this land, I have ever set the last 
judgment day before mine eyes, and so to rule as I shall be 
judged and answer before a higher judge, to whose judgment 
seat I do appeal; in that thought was never cherished in my 
heart that tended not to my people's good. 

And if my princely bounty have been abused ; and my 
grants turned to the hurt of my people contrary to my will 
and meaning; or if any in authority under me have neglected, 
or converted what I have committed unto them, I hope God 
will not lay their culps to my charge. 

To be a king, and wear a crown^ is a thing more glorious to 
them that see it than it is pleasant to them that bear it : for 
myself, I never was so much enticed with the glorious name of 
a king, or the royal authority of a queen, as delighted that God 



The Reign of Elisabeth 417 

hath made me his instrument to maintain his truth and glory, 
and to defend this kingdom from dishonour, damage, tyranny, 
and oppression. But should I ascribe any of these to myself 
or to my sexly weakness, I were not worthy to live, and of all 
most unworthy of the mercies I have received at God's hands, 
but to God only and wholly all is given and ascribed. 

The cares and troubles of a crown I cannot more fitly re- The queen 
semble than to the drugs of a learned phisitian, perfumed with ";'^^ "°^ 
some aromatical savour, or to bitter pills gilded over, by which years old 
they are made more acceptable or less offensive, which indeed 
are bitter and unpleasant to take ; and for my own part, were 
it not for conscience' sake, to discharge the duty that God hath 
lay'd upon me, and to maintain his glory, and keep you in 
safety, in mine own disposition I should be willing to resign 
the place I hold to any other, and glad to be freed of the glory 
with the labours, for it is not my desire to live or to reign longer 
than my life and reign shall be for your good. And though 
you have had and may have many mightier and wiser princes 
sitting in this seat, yet you never have had nor shall have any 
that will love you better. 

Thus, Mr. Speaker, I commend me to your loyal loves, and 
yours to my best care and your further councils ; and I pray 
you, Mr. Controubrand, Mr. Secretary, and you of my council, 
that before these gentlemen depart into their counties, you 
bring them all to kiss my hand. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE PERSONAL MONARCHY OF THE EARLY STUARTS, 
I 603- I 640 

I. Royal, Parliamentary, and Puritan Theories 

The following passage is an extract from the memoirs 
of the contemporary French minister, Sully, describing 
the new English king, James I, whom he had been sent 
to greet in the name of the French king, Henry IV. 

244. Extracts The king of England, who had before acquainted me that 

from me- j^g ^yould grant me an audience on the 2 2d, which was Sunday, 
moirs of the ° , r ■ j • t 1 j 

Due de Sully ^ent a gentleman to confirm it to me, to desire 1 would not 

(June 22, think the time tedious, and to be informed how I was lodged, 
^ ^^' and whether I wanted anything. To this favor was also added 

a present of half a buck, which, as this prince informed me by 
the bearer, he had killed that day, and was the first he had 
ever taken in his life, though he was a great lover of the chase ; 
the reason was, there being very few in Scotland, and this the 
first he had hunted in England. 

From hence he took occasion to make Henry a compli- 
ment, by saying that he had attributed his good fortune to the 
arrival of a man, who came from a prince that was looked upon 
to be the king of hunters. I replied . . . that when the king 
my master made a party for the chase, he was so far from 
thinking, like the king of England, that my presence would 
contribute to its success, that he generally sent me to attend 
to other affairs in the cabinet, where, he said, I was more 
happy. Though there was nothing serious in all this, I was 
nevertheless glad of the opportunity that was afforded me 
to insinuate myself into his Britannic Majesty's favor, and 

418 



The Personal J\Ionarc/ij of the Early Stuarts 4 1 9 

with this view I turned my compliment in such a manner as 
might please the self-complacency of James, who, I very well 
knew, was extremely flattered by any comparison with the king 
of France. . . . 

The conversation continued the same as before, during great James' vain 
part of the entertainment ; but an opportunity offering for the ]^^**'"S of 
king to speak of the late queen of England, he did it, and to over the 
my great regret, with some sort of contempt ; he even boasted government 
of the dexterity which he had employed to manage her by °^ Elizabeth 
means of her own councilors, all of whom, he said, he had gained 
over during her life, so that they did nothing but what was 
agreeable to him ; that it was, therefore, not at this time only 
he governed England, but several years before the death of 
the late queen, whose memory did not seem agreeable to him. 
He then called for some wine, his custom being never to mix 
water with it, and holding the glass in his hand toward Beau- 
mont and myself, he drank to the health of the king, the 
queen, and the royal family of France, I returned him his 
health, and that, too, without forgetting his children. He in- 
clined himself to my ear when he heard me name them, and 
told me softly, that the next health he would drink should be 
to the double union which he was planning between the royal 
houses. 

He had never till now said a single word to me about this ; 
and I thought the opportunity which he had thus taken for it 
was not extremely well chosen. 1 failed not, however, to re- 
ceive the proposal with all possible marks of joy, and replied 
softly that I was certain Henry Avould not hesitate in his 
choice between his good brother and ally, and the king of 
Spain, who had before applied to him upon the same subject. 
James, surprised at what I told him, informed me in his turn, 
that Spain had made him the same offers of the Infanta for 
his son as it had to France for the Dauphin. At last he quitted 
the company to go to bed, where he usually passes part of the 
afternoon, and sometimes even the whole of it. 

King James held positive opinions about most things, 
including the use of tobacco, which was now becoming a 



420 Readings in English History 

widespread habit in England. He wrote, thei"efore, what 
he called A Counterblast against Tobacco, from which 
the following passages are selected. 

245. King Many in this kingdom have had such a continual use of tak- 

James on jj^g |-j^ig unsavory smoke, as now they are not able to forbear 

fashion of ^he same, no more than a long drunkard can be long sober, 

tobacco without falling into an uncurable weakness. ... It is, as you 

"^^°^ use, or rather abuse it, a branch of the sin of drunkenness, 

which is the root of all sins : for as the only delight that 

drunkards take in wine is in the strength of the taste, and the 

force of the fume thereof that mounts up to the brain ; for 

no drunkards love any weak or sweet drink; so are not those 

(I mean the strong heat and the fume) the only qualities that 

make Jobacco so delectable to all the lovers of it? 

And for the vanities committed in this filthy custom, is it 
not both great vanity and uncleanliness, that at the table, a 
place of respect, of cleanliness, of modesty, men should not 
be ashamed to sit- tossing of tobacco pipes, and puffing of the 
smoke of tobacco one to another, making the filthy smoke and 
stink thereof to exhale athwart the dishes and infect the air, 
when very often men that abhor it are at their repast? 

Surely smoke becomes a kitchen far better than a dining 
chamber, and yet it makes a kitchen also oftentimes in the 
inward parts of men, soiling and infecting them with an unc- 
tuous and oily kind of soot, as hath been found in some great 
tobacco takers that after their death were opened. . . . The 
public use whereof at all times and in all places hath now so 
far prevailed, as that divers men, very sound both in judgment 
and complexion, have been at last forced to take it also with- 
out desire, partly because they were ashamed to seem singular 
. . . and partly to be as one that was content to eat garlic 
(which he did not love) that he might not be troubled with 
the smell of it in the breath of his fellows. 

And is it not a great vanity that a man cannot heartily wel- 
come his friend now, but straight they must be in hand with 
tobacco? Now it is become in place of a cure, a point of good 
fellowship, and he that will refuse to take a pipe of tobacco 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 42 1 

among his fellows (though for his own election he would rather 
feel the savor of a sink) is accounted peevish and no good 
company, even as they do with tippling in the cold Eastern 
countries. Yea the mistress cannot in a more mannerly kind 
entertain her servant than by giving him out of her fair hand 
a pipe of tobacco. ... It is a custom loathsome to the eye, 
hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the 
lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resem- 
bling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless. 

The views of James and of the authorities of the estab- 
lished church on the question of Sunday observance are 
brought out clearly in the Declaration of Sports, issued 
by the king, after noticing in Lancashire, when he was 
traveling through the country in 16 1 7, that the puritanical 
magistrates and some of the clergymen were punishing 
people for carrying on their ancient amusements on 
Sunday. 

Our express pleasure therefore is, that the laws of our king- 246. The 
dom and canons of the church be as well observed in that Declaration 
county, as in all places of this our kingdom ; and on the other (i(,^»\ ^ 
part, that no lawful recreation shall be barred to our good 
people which shall not tend to the breach of our aforesaid 
laws and canons of our church. Which to express more par- Conversion 
ticularly, our pleasure is, that the bishop and all other inferior °'' punish- 
churchmen and churchwardens shall for their parts be careful catholics 
and diligent, both to instruct the ignorant, and convince and 
reform them that are misled in religion, presenting them that 
will not conform themselves but obstinately stand out, to our 
judges and justices, whom we likewise command to put the law 
in due execution against them. 

Our pleasure likewise is, that the bishop of that diocese Humiliation 
take the like strait order with all the Puritans and precisians °'' ^/^''^ °^ 
within the same, either constraining them to conform them- 
selves or to leave the country, according to the laws of our 
kingdom and canons of our church, and so to strike equally 
on both hands, against the contemners of our authority and 



422 



Readmgs in English History 



The people 
not to be 
prevented 
from enjoy- 
ing Sunday 
afternoon 
sports 



Roman Cath- 
olics and all 
absentees 
from church 
to be deprived 
of this 
privilege 



adversaries of our church. And as for our good people's law- 
ful recreation, our pleasure likewise is, that after the end of 
divine service our good people be not disturbed, letted, or 
discouraged from any lawful recreation, such as dancing, either 
men or women, archery for men, leaping, vaulting, or any 
other such harmless recreation, nor from having of May games, 
Whitsun ales, and morris dances ; and the setting of Maypoles 
and other sports therewith used ; so as the same be had in 
due and convenient time, without impediment or neglect of 
divine service. And that women shall have leave to carry 
rushes to the church for the decorating of it, according to 
their old custom. But withal we do here account still as pro- 
hibited all unlawful games to be used upon Sundays only, as 
bear and bull baitings, interludes, and at all times in the 
meaner sort of people, by law prohibited, bowling. 

And likewise we bar from this benefit and liberty all such 
known recusants, either men or women, as will abstain from 
coming to church or divine service, being therefore unworthy 
of lawful recreation after the said service, that will not first 
come to the church and serve God ; prohibiting in like sort 
the said recreation to any that, though conformed in religion, 
are not present in the church at the service of God before 
their going to the said recreations. Our pleasure likewise is, 
that they to whom it belongeth in office shall present and 
sharply punish all such as, in abuse of this our liberty, will 
use these exercises before the end of all divine services for 
that day. We likewise straitly command that every person 
shall resort to his own parish church to hear divine service, 
and each parish by itself to use the said recreation after divine 
service ; prohibiting likewise any offensive weapons to be 
carried or used in the said times of recreation. And our 
pleasure is, that this our declaration shall be published by 
order from the bishop of the diocese, through all the parish 
churches, and that both our judges of our circuit and our 
justices of our peace be informed thereof. 

Given at our manor of Greenwich, the four and twentieth 
day of May, in the sixteenth year of our reign in England, 
France, and Ireland ; and of Scotland the one and fiftieth. 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 423 

In the latter part of Elizabeth's reign had appeared a 
series of anonymous pamphlets, printed on a secret press, 
and signed " Martin Marprelate." They were bitter and 
coarse attacks on the bishops, and, although published 
fifteen years before the beginning of James' reign, give a 
good idea of the feelings of the more extreme Puritans 
of his time. 

Right poysond, persecuting, and terrible priests: the theame 247. A Puri- 
of mine Epistle unto your venerable masterdomes is of two *^° attack 
parts. . . . Take heed brethren of your reverend and learned bishops 
brother Martin Marprelate. For he meaneth in these rea- 
sons following, I can tell you, to prove that you ought not 
to be maintained by the authorite of the Magistrate in any 
Christian commonwealth : Martin is a shrewd fellow and rea- 
soneth thus. Those that are pettie popes and pettie Antichrists 
ought not to be maintained in anie Christian commonwealth. 
But everie Lord Bishop in England, as for ilsample John of 
Canterbury, John of London, John Excetor, John Rochester, 
Thomas of Winchester, the Bishops of Lincolne, of Worcester, 
of Peterborow, and to be briefe all the Bishops in Eng- 
land, Wales, and Ireland are pettie popes and pettie Anti- 
christes. . . . 

Well nowe to mine eloquence, for I can doe it I tell you. Against the 
Who made the porter of his gate a dumb minister? Dumbe bishop of 
John of London. Who abuseth her Maiestie's subjects in 
urging them to subscribe contrary to lawe? John of London 
(and Dr. Stanop too). Whoe bound an Essex minister in 
200^. to weare the surplice on Easter day last? John Lon- 
don. Who hath cut downe the Elmes at Fulham? John Lon- 
don. Who is a carnall defender of the breache of the Sabbath 
in all the places of his abode? John London. Who forbiddeth 
men to humble themselves in fasting and prayer before the 
Lorde, and then can say unto the preachers, now you were 
best to tell the people that we forbid fastes? John London. 
Who goeth to bowles upon the Sabbath? Dumbe, dunsticall 
John of good London hath done all this. . . . 



424 Readings in English History 

Against the But brother Winchester you of al other men are most 
bishop of wretched, for you openly in the audience of many hundreds 

Winchester ■> j 1 j j 

at Saint Marie Overies church the last Lent, 1587, pro- 
nounced that men might finde fault if they were disposed to 
quarrell as well with the Scripture as with the booke of Com- 
mon praier. Who coulde heare this comparison without trem- 
bling? But lest you should thinke that he hath not as good a 
gift in speaking against his conscience as my lord of Canter- 
bury is endoued with : you are to understand that both in that 
sermon of his and in another which he preached at the court 
the same Lent he protested before God and the congregation 
where he stood that there was not in the world at this day, 
nay there had not bin since the apostles time, such a flourish- 
ing estate of a Church as we have now in England. Is it any 
marvaile that we have so many swine, dumbe dogs, nonresi- 
dents, with their journeimen, the hedge priests ; so many lewd 
livers, as theeves, murtherers, adulterers, drunkards, cormo- 
rants, raschals ; so many ignorant atheistical dolts, so many 
covetous popish Bishops in our ministery: and so many and so 
monstrous corruptions in our Church and yet likely to have no 
redresse, seing our impudent shamelesse and wainscote-faced 
bishops, like beasts, contrary to the knowledge of all men, and 
against their own consciences, dare in the eares of her Majestie 
affirme all to be well where there is nothing but sores and 
blisters, yea where the grief is even deadly at the heart. . . . 

But you see my worshipful! priests of this crue to whom I 
write what a perilous fellow M. Mareprelate is : he understands 
of all your knaveries and it may be he keeps a register of 
them : unlesse you amend they shall al come into the light 
one day. And you brethren bishops take this warning from 
me. If you doe not leave your persecuting of godly Christians 
and good subjects that seeke to live rightly in the feare of 
God and the obedience of her Majestie all your dealing shal 
be made knowen unto the world. And ise be sure to make 
you an example to all posterities. You see I have taken some 
paynes with you alreadie and I will owe you a better turn and 
pay it you with advantage at the least thirteene to the dozen, 
unles you observe these conditions of peace which I drawe 



TJie Personal JSIonarcJiy of tJie Early Stuarts 425 

betweene me and you. For I assure you I make not your 
doings known for anie mallice that I beare unto you but the 
hurt that you doe unto God's Churche. Leave you your wicked- 
nesse and ile leave the revealing of your knaveries. 

A more dignified and more definite statement of a 
number of the reforms desired by the Puritans is con- 
tained in the so-called Millenary Petition, presented to 
James soon after his accession. 

Although divers of us that sue for reformation have formerly 248. Extracts 
in respect to the times subscribed to the book [of Common !j°,?*'^^ 
Prayer], some upon protestation, some upon exposition given Petition 
them, some with condition, rather than the church should 
have been deprived of their labour and ministry ; yet now we, 
to the number of more than a thousand of your Majesty's 
subjects and ministers, all groaning as under a common burthen 
of human rites and ceremonies, do with one joint consent 
humble ourselves at your Majesty's feet, to be eased and 
relieved in this behalf. Our humble suit then unto your 
Majesty is that of these offenses following some may be re- 
moved, some amended, some qualified. 

In the church service, that the cross in baptism, interroga- 
tories ministered to infants, and confirmation, as superfluous, 
may be taken away. Baptism not to be ministered by women, 
and so explained. The cap and the surplice not urged. That 
examination may go before the communion. That it be min- 
istered with a sermon. That divers terms of " priests," and 
"absolution," and some others used, with the ring in mar- 
riage, and other such like in the book, may be corrected. The 
longsomeness of service abridged. Church songs and music 
moderated to better edification. That the Lord's day be not 
profaned ; the rest upon holydays not so strictly urged. That 
there be an uniformity of doctrine prescribed. No popish 
opinion to be any more taught or defended : no ministers 
charged to teach their people to bow at the name of Jesus. 
That the canonical scriptures only be read in the church. . . . 



426 Readings in English History 

So much of the history of this period turns upon the 
conflicting opinions concerning the powers of king and 
parliament held by the king and those who agreed with 
him, on the one hand, and the leaders in parliament and 
those that agreed with them, on the other, that it may 
be well to group some contemporary statements of these 
opinions here. 

249. A speech The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth, 
of James I £qj. ki^gs are not only God's lieutenants upon earth and sit 
ment (i6io) upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called 

gods. There be three principal similitudes that illustrate the 
state of monarchy : one taken out of the word of God, and 
the two others out of the grounds of policy and philosophy. 
In the scriptures kings are called gods, and so their power 
after a certain" relation compared to the divine power. Kings 
are also compared to fathers of families, for a king is truly 
parens patriae, the politic father of his people. And lastly, 
kings are compared to the head of this microcosm of the body 
of man. . . . 

I conclude then this point touching the power of kings with 
this axiom of divinity. That as to dispute what God may do is 
blasphemy, ... so is it sedition in subjects to dispute what a 
king may do in the height of his power. But just kings will 
ever be willing to declare what they will do, if they will not 
incur the curse of God. I will not be content that my power 
be disputed upon ; but I shall ever be willing to make the 
reason appear of all my doings, and rule my actions according 
to my laws. ... I would wish you to be careful . . . that 
you do not meddle with the main points of government \ that 
is my craft. ... It is an undutiful part in subjects to press 
their king wherein they know beforehand he will refuse them. 

250. A speech . . Now having spoken of your office in general, I am 
of James I xxqyA. to come to the limits wherein you are to bound your- 
iudges (1616) selves, which Hkewise are three. First, encroach not upon the 

prerogative of the crown : if there falls out a question that 
concerns my prerogative or mystery of state, deal not with it, 



TJie Personal Monarchy of i/ie Early Stuarts 427 

till you consult with the king or his council, or both, for they 
are transcendent matters. . . . That which concerns the 
mystery of the king's power is not lawful to be disputed ; for 
that is to wade into the weakness of princes, and to take away 
the mystical reverence that belongs unto them that sit in the 
throne of God. 

Secondly, that you keep yourselves within your own benches, 
not to invade other jurisdictions, which is unfit and an unlawful 
thing. . . . Keep you therefore all in your own bounds, and, 
for my part, I desire you to give me no more right, in my 
private prerogative, than you give to any subject, and therein 
I will be acquiescent : as for the absolute prerogative of the 
crown, that is no subject for the tongue of a lawyer, nor is 
lawful to be disputed. 

It is atheism and blasphemy to dispute what God can do : 
good Christians content themselves with his will revealed in 
his word ; so it is presumption and high contempt in a subject 
to dispute what a king can do, or say that a king cannot do 
this or that ; but rest in that which is the king's revealed will 
in his law. 

These opinions u^ere not peculiar to the king, as 
appears in the following extract from a contemporary 
sermon. 

Among all the powers that be ordained of God the regal is 251. A ser- 

most high, strong, and large. . . . No power in the world or "°° ^y ^^■'■• 
• .X. t- y. c .\. I. ^ 1 , Roger Main- 

ni the hierarchy of the church can lay restrauit upon these waring (1627) 

supremes. . . . Now to this high, large, and most restraining 
power of kings, not only nature, but even God himself gives 
from heaven most full and ample testimony, and that this 
power is not merely human but superhuman and indeed no 
less than a power divine. . . . That sublime power, there- 
fore, which resides in earthly potentates is not a derivation or 
collection of human power scattered among many and gathered 
into one head, but a participation of God's own omnipotency, 
which he never did communicate to any multitudes of men in 
the world, but only and immediately to his own vicegerents. 



428 



Readings in English History 



The second point was mandatum regis ; the commandment 
of the king. . . . All the significations of a royal pleasure are, 
and ought to be, to all loyal subjects, in the nature and force 
of a command. . . . Nay, though any king in the world com- 
mand flatly against the law of God, yet were his power no 
otherwise at all to be resisted, but (for the not doing of his 
will in that which is clearly unlawful) to endure with patience 
whatsoever penalty his pleasure should inflict upon them who 
in this case would desire rather to obey God than man. 

The belief of the House of Commons, on the other 
hand, that the powers of the king were strictly limited, 
and that parliament had its clearly established part in the 
government of the country, comes out through all the 
forms of respect in the following protest. 

252. Apology Most Gracious Sovereign : 

. . . We know and, with great thankfulness to God, acknowl- 
edge that he hath given us a king of such understanding and 
wisdom as is rare to find in any prince in the world. How- 
beit, seeing no human wisdom, how great soever, can pierce 
into the particularities of the rights and customs of a people 
or of the sayings and doings of particular persons, but by tract 
of experience and faithful report of such as know them, . . . 
what grief, what anguish of mind hath it been unto us at some 
time in presence to hear, and so in other things to find and 
feel by effect, your gracious Majesty (to the extreme preju- 
dice of all your- subjects of England, and in particular of this 
House of the Commons thereof) so greatly wronged by misin- 
formation, as well touching the estate of one as the privi- 
leges of the other, and their several proceedings during this 
parliament. . . . 

With all humble and due respect to your Majesty, our 
sovereign lord and head, against these misinformations we 
most truly avouch, first, that our privileges and liberties are 
our right and due inheritance, no less than our very lands and 
goods. Secondly, that they cannot be withheld from us, denied, 
or impaired, but with apparent wrong to the whole state of 



of the House 
of Commons 
to the king 
(1604) 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 429 

the realm. Thirdly, that our making of request in the entrance 
of parliament to enjoy our privilege is an act only of manners, 
and doth weaken our right no more than our suing to the king 
for our lands by petition, which form, though new and more 
decent than the old by praecipe, yet the subject's right is no 
less than of old. Fourthly, we avouch also that our House is a 
court of record, and so ever esteemed. Fifthly, that there is 
not the highest standing court in this land that ought to enter 
into competency either for dignity or authority with this high 
court of parliament, which with your Majesty's royal assent 
gives laws to other courts, but from other courts receives 
neither laws or orders. 

Sixthly, and lastly, we avouch that the House of Commons 
is the sole proper judge of return of all such writs, and of the 
election of all such members as belong unto it, without which 
the freedom of election were not entire ; and that the chancery, 
though a standing court under your Majesty, be to send out 
those writs and receive the returns and to preserve them, yet 
the same is done only for the use of the parliament ; over 
which neither the chancery nor any other court ever had or 
ought to have any manner of jurisdiction. 

The rights and liberties of the Commons of England con- Freedom of 
sisteth chiefly in these three things : first, that the shires, election, 

,, ,.„,., . , freedom from 

Cities, and boroughs of England, by representation to be pres- arrest and 
ent, have free choice of such persons as they shall put in trust freedom of 
to represent them ; secondly, that the persons chosen, during ^P^^*^" 
the time of the parliament, as also of their access and recess, 
be free from restraint, arrest, and imprisonment ; thirdly, that 
in parliament they may speak freely their consciences without 
check and controlment, doing the same with due reverence to 
the sovereign court of parliament, that is, to your Majesty and 
both the Houses, who all in this case make but one politic 
body, whereof your Highness is the head. . . . 

There remaineth, dread Sovereign, yet one part of our duty 
at this present, which faithfulness of heart, not presumption, 
doth press : we stand not in place to speak or do things pleas- 
ing. Our care is, and must be, to confirm the love and tie the 
hearts of your subjects, the Commons, most firmly to your 



430 Readings in English History 

A protest Majesty. Herein lieth the means of our well deserving of 
against \,q\}^ : there was never prince entered with greater love, with 

private in- ' o > 

fluence over greater joy and applause of all his people. This love, this joy, 
the king igt it flourish in their hearts forever. Let no suspicion have 

to" parliament ^^cess to their fearful thoughts, that their privileges, which 
they think by your Majesty should be protected, should now 
by sinister informations or counsel be violated or impaired ; or 
that those which with dutiful respects to your Majesty speak 
freely for the right and good of their country, shall be oppressed 
or disgraced. Let your Majesty be pleased to receive public 
information from your Commons in parliament as to the civil 
estate and government ; for private informations pass often by 
practice : the voice of the people, in the things of their knowl- 
edge, is said to be as the voice of God. And if your Majesty 
shall vouchsafe, at your best pleasure and leisure, to enter into 
your gracious consideration of our petition for the ease of these 
burthens, under which your people have of long time mourned, 
hoping for relief by your Majesty, then may you be assured 
to be possessed of their hearts, and, if of their hearts, of all 
they can do or have. And so we, your Majesty's most humble 
and loyal subjects, whose ancestors have with great loyalty, 
readiness, and joyfulness served your famous progenitors, kings 
and queens of this realm, shall with like loyalty and joy, both 
we and our posterity, serve your Majesty and your most royal 
issue forever, with our lives, lands and goods, and all other 
our abilities; and by all means endeavor to procure your 
Majesty's honor, with all plenty, tranquillity, content, joy, and 
felicity. 

n. The Religious Question 

The following is an extract from a contemporaneous 
pamphlet describing the Hampton Court Conference, the 
turning point in King James' attitude to the Puritans. 

Then hee (Doctor Reynolds) desireth, that according to 
certaine Provincial Constitutions, they of the Clergy might 
have meetinges once every three weeks ; first in Rurall 
Deaneries, and therein to have Prophecying, according as 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 431 

the Reverend Father, Archibishop Grindall and other Bishops 253. A con- 
desired of her late Majestie ; that such thinges as could not temporary 
be resolved upon there might bee referred to the Archdea- the Hampton 
con's Visitation ; and so from thence to the Episcopall Synode, Court Confer- 
where the Bishop with his Presbyters should determine all such ^^'^^ ^^^"'♦^ 
pointes as before could not be decided. 

At which speech, his Majestie was somewhat stirred; yet, 
which is admirable in him, without passion or shew thereof; 
thinking that they aymed at a Scottish Presbytery, " which," 
saith he, " as wel agreeth with a Monarchy, as God and the 
Devill. Then Jack and Tom and Will and Dick shall meete, 
and at their pleasures censure me and my Councell and all 
our proceedinges. Then Will shall stand up and say it must 
be thus ; then Dick shall reply and say, nay, marry, but wee 
will have it thus. And therefore, here I must once reiterate 
my former speech, Le Roy s'avisera} Stay, I pray you, for one 
seven yeares, before you demaund that of mee, and if then 
you finde me purseye and fat and my windepipes stuffed, I 
will perhaps hearken to you ; for let that government bee once 
up, I am sure I shall bee kept in breath ; then shall we all of us 
have worke enough, both our hands ful. But Doctor Reynolds, 
til you finde that I grow lazy, let that alone. 

" No Bishop, no King, as before I said. Neither doe I thus 
speak, at random, without grounde, for I have observed since 
my coming into England, that some preachers before me can 
be content to pray for James, King of England, Scotland, 
France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, but as for Supreme 
Governor in all Causes and over all persons (as well Ecclesias- 
ticall as Civill), they passe that over with silence ; and what cut 
they have beene of, I after learned." After this, asking them if 
they had any more to object, and Dr. Reynolds aunswering, No, 
his Majestie appointed the next Wednesday for both parties to 
meete before him, and rising from his Chaire, as he was going 
to his inner Chamber, "If this bee al," quoth he, "that they 
have to say, I shall make them conforme themselves, or I wil 
harrie them out of the land, or else doe worse." 

^ " The king will consider it further." This is the form of words used 
by the king when he vetoes a bill passed by parliament. 



432 Readings in English History 

And this was the Summe of the Second daye's Conference, 
which raysed such an admiration in the Lordes, in respect of 
the King, his singular readiness, and exact knowledge ; that 
one of them saide, hee was fully perswaded, his Majestie spake 
by the instinct of the spirite of God. 

The Gunpowder Plot is a subject of much difficulty. 
Many modern scholars believe that it was only a pre- 
tended plot, alleged by the king's ministers in order to 
enable them to take more severe action against the 
Catholics. The following extract from a narrative of 
contemporary occurrences by a country gentleman of the 
time shows at least what was believed about it then, and 
what has generally been taught since. ^ 

254. Extracts November 5, 1605. This day there was a horrible treason 
from the intended to be put in practice against the king, the queen, the 
Walter prince, all the nobility, the bishops, and chiefest clergy of this 

Yonge land, which were to be assembled at this day in parliament. 

The design was to blow up the parliament house with gun- 
powder. The chief actors were Johnson, alias Fawkes, alias 
Foster, alias Browne, who should have set the powder on fire ; 
Thomas Percy, a pensioner ; Catesbie, Robert Winter, Graunt, 
Ruckwood, Thomas Winter, Cays, Bates, Sir Everard Digby. 
There were also of the nobility, as the story goes, privy there- 
unto, the earl of Northumberland, Lord Stourton, Lord Mor- 
daunt. Lord Lumley, Lord Vaux. It was discovered by a letter 
written to the Lord Mounteagle (and as though by Sir Francis 
Tresham, one of the conspirators), but without any name to 
it. Upon the discovery Percy, Catesbie, Robert and Thomas 
Winter fled from London into Warwickshire ; where they raised 
the county, took certain great horses, to the number of four- 
teen, out of the town of Warwick ; from thence went into 
Staffordshire, being in all sixty or eighty horse ; where, being 
pursued by the sheriff of Warwickshire, and seeing that the 

1 On this controversy see Gerard, What Was the Gunpowder Plot ? 
and Gardiner, What Giitipowder Plot Was. 



The Perso7ial MonarxJiy of the Early Stuarts 433 

country stuck not to them as they thought, they took one 
Littleton's house, which being by the sheriff aforesaid beset, 
after some small resistance, were all taken, Percy and Catesbie 
being then slain, the rest brought up to London and com- 
mitted to prison. Afterwards, upon examination of these cap- 
tives, were apprehended the earl of Northumberland, Lord 
Vaux, Lord Stourton, Lord Lumley, and the Lord Mordaunt, 
and committed to the Tower. 

On Thursday, being the 30th of January, Sir Everard Digby, 
Robert Winter, Grant, and Bates were, for the facts afore- 
said, hanged, drawn, and quartered, at London, in Paul's 
Churchyard. 

The next day, being Friday, Thomas Winter, the younger 
brother, Ruckwood, Caies, and Faulkes were likewise executed 
in the old palace in Westminster. 



in. The Spanish Marriage Project 

The following letters concerning the plan for a mar- 
riage between Prince Charles of England and the princess 
of Spain will illustrate not only that subject but the some- 
what undignified fondness of James for his son and Buck- 
ingham, — " Steenie," as he called him. The first letter 
was written while the Spanish marriage was a new plan. 

My onlie sweete and deare chylde, I praye thee haiste thee 255. King 

hoame to thy deare daddie by sunne setting at the farthest, and Jf °^f ^ to 

, T^-, , • ■ , r. ■ , 11 Buckingham 

torgette not to make Dikbie give the Spanishe ambassador 

assurance that I will leave nothing undone that I may par- 
forme with justice and honour in holding a mylde hande upon 
the Papists ; onlie a way muste be founde to make thaire com- 
plaints come to my eares. But as for miladie Lake, I must 
both confesse to have pronounced an unjuste sentence and 
breake my promise to miladie Exceter in a matter of justice, 
if I grawnte her any ease at this tyme ; besydes that this cause 
hath no aspect to Religion, excepte the Romishe Religion be 
composid of the seven deadlie sinnes : for I dare swaere she 



434 Readings in English History 

is guilty of them all. If Spaine trouble me with suites of this 
nature both against my justice and honoure, thaire friendshippe 
will be more burthensome then useful! unto me, and so the 
Lorde send me a comfortable and happie meeting with thee 
this night. 

JAMES, R. 

This letter and the next were written while Charles 
and Buckingham were in Spain. 

256. King My sweete boyes, I hoape before this tyme ye are fullie sat- 

James to isfyed with my diligent caire in wrytting unto you upon all oc- 

Charies and casions ; but I have bettir cause to quarrel you, that ye shoulde 

Buckingham ever have been in doubte of my often writting unto you. . . . 

But the newis of your glorious reception thaire makes me 

affrayed that ye will both miskenne your old Daddie hereafter ; 

but in earniste my babie ye must be spairing as ye can in 

youre spending thaire, for your officers are allreaddie putte to 

the height of thaire speede with provyding the fyve thowsands 

powndis by exchange, and now youre tilting stuffe quhiche 

thaye knowe not how to provyde will come to three more : and 

God knowis how my coffers are allreadie drained. . . . 

But I praye you, my babie, take heade of being hurte if you 
runne at tilte. As for Steenie, I hoape thow will come bakke 
before that tyme, for I hoape my babie will be readdie to come 
awaye before the horses can be thaire wel restid, and all things 
readdie for running at tilte, quhiche muste be my babies pairt- 
ing blow if he can have laaser to parforme it thaire. I praye 
you in the meanetyme keepe yourselfis in use of dawncing 
privatlie, thogh ye showlde quhissell and sing one to another 
like Jakke and Tom, for faulfe of bettir musike. As for the 
maine bussienesse, I hoape that Dispensation will come speed- 
ielie and well, if other wayes ye muste putte that King bravelie 
to it. . . . 

And thus God keepe you my sweete Boyes with my fatherlie 
blessing ; and sende you a happie successful! journey, and a 
joyefuU and happie returne in the armes of yore deare Dade. 
From Theobaldis, the first of Apryle. 

James, R. 



TJie Persotial Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 435 

Dere Dad, Gossope, and Steward : 257. The 

Thouerh your babie himselfe hath sent word what neede he ^"^f . 

° ■' . Buckingham 

hath of more Jewells, yet will I by this berer, who can make more to the king 
speede then Carlile, againe acquaint your Majesty therewith, 
and give my poure and sausie opinion what will be fittest more 
to send. Hetherto you have bine so spareing that whereas you 
thought to have sent him sufficiently for his one waring, to 
present his Mistris who I ame sure shall shortlie now louse that 
title, and to lend me, that I to the contrarie have bine forsed 
to lend him. You neede not aske who made me able to do it. 
Sir, he hath neyther chaine nor hattband ; and I beseech you 
consider first how rich they are in Jewells here, then in what a 
poure equipage he came in, how he hath no other meanes to 
appere liek a Kings sonne, how they are usefullest at such a 
time as this when they may doe your selfe, your sonne, and the 
nation honor, and lastlie how it will neyther caust nor hasard 
you anie things. These reasons, I hope since you have ven- 
tured allredie your cheefest jewel, your Sonne, will serve to 
perswade you to lett louse thesse more after him ; first your 
best hatband ; the Portingall diamond ; the rest of the pendent 
diamonds, to make up a Necles to give his Mistris ; and the 
best rope of perle ; with a rich chaine or tow for himself to 
waire, or els your Doge must want a coller ; which is the redie 
way to put him into it. There are manie other Jewells which 
are of so mean qualitie as they deserve not that name but will 
save much in your purs and serve verie well for Presents. . . . 

Your Majesty's most humble slave and doge, 

Steenie. 

The following letter describes the rejoicing when the 
prince came home without his Spanish bride, and illus- 
trates the unpopularity of the plan. 

Sir : 258. Mr. 

I shall not need tell you the Prince is come and at Royston. ^^^^^ *° ^^'' 

M Stute- 
The news came to our Vicechancellor Munday forenoone ; our yijie (from 

Belles rung all that day, and the Towne made bonefires at night. Oxford) 

Tuesday, the belles continued ringing. Every College had a 

speech and one dish more for supper, and bonefires and 



436 Readings in English History 

squibbes in their Courts ; the Townsmen still continuing to 
warme their streets in every corner also with bonefires, least 
they should not be merry when we were. Wednesday the Uni- 
versity assembled ; in the forenoone to a gratulatorie Sermon at 
St. Maries ; in the afternoone to a publick Oration. The close, 
at night, was with bonefires, drummes, gunnes, fireworks, till 
past midnight all the Towne about. 

I can tell you no more yet, for we have not received this 
dayes Letters from London, and the Court will tell us nothing. 
The Prince hath gott a beard and is chearfuU. The Marquess 
(some conceive) not so. We heare nothing of the Match at 
all : but we are sure yet the Infanta is not come. How the 
King and the new-come-home guests greeted at their meeting 
it is not yet publick, and it seemes it was performed in private. 
To morrow all our Doctors and many besides of our University 
go to Court to present our Book of Verses. 

IV. Francis Bacon and Walter Raleigh 

The thoughtfulness, insight, wit, and eloquence of 
Bacon can be seen in the following, — one of the most 
familiar of his Essays. 

259. Bacon's Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their 
Essay chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring ; for orna- 

Oii Studies . . ,. , . ......... , 

ment is ui discourse ; and for ability is in the judgment and 
disposition of business : for expert men can execute, and per- 
haps judge of particulars, one by one ; but the general counsels, 
and the plots and marshaling of afifairs come best from those 
that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth ; 
to use them too much for ornament is affectation ; to make 
judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar : 
they perfect nature, and are perfected by experience ; for nat- 
ural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study ; 
and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at 
large, except they be bounded in by experience. 

Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and 
wise men use them ; for they teach not their own use, but that 



The Personal MonarcJiy of the Early Stuarts 437 

is a wisdom without them and above them, won by observation. 
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take 
for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and 
consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, 
and some few to be chewed and digested ; that is, some books 
are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curi- 
ously ; and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and 
attention. Some books also may be read by deputy and extracts 
made of them by others ; but that would be only in the less 
important arguments and the meaner sort of books ; else dis- 
tilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things. 
Reading maketh a full man ; conference a ready man ; and 
writing an exact man ; and, therefore, if a man write little, he 
had need have a great memory ; if he confer little, he had 
need have a present wit ; and if he read little, he had need 
have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. 

Histories make men wise ; poets, witty ; the mathematics, 
subtile ; natural philosophy, deep ; moral, grave ; logic and 
rhetoric, able to contend: '■^Abeunt studia in mores'\- nay, 
there is no stand or impediment in the wit but may be wrought 
out by fit studies : like as diseases of the body may have appro- 
priate exercises ; bowling is good for the stone and reins, shoot- 
ing for the lungs and breast, gentle walking for the stomach, 
riding for the head, and the like. So if a man's wit be wander- 
ing, let him study the mathematics, for in demonstrations, if 
his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again ; if 
his wit be not able to distinguish or find difference, let him 
study the schoolmen, for they are Cymini sec tores. If he 
be not apt to beat over matters and to call up one thing to 
prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers' cases : 
so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. 

During the long imprisonment of Raleigh in the Tovi^er 
of London he found relief, among other occupations, in 
writing a History of the World. The following extract 
from this work will give some idea of his philosophical 
observations and eloquent style. 



438 



Readings in English History 



260. Ex- 
tract from 
Raleigh's 
History of 
the World 



Reflections 
on human 
ambition 



Since the fall of the Roman Empire (omitting that of the 
Germanes, which had neither greatnesse nor continuance) there 
hath beene no State fearf uU in the East, but that of the Turk ; 
nor in the West any Prince that hath spred his wings farre 
over his nest, but the Spaniard ; who since the time that Fer- 
dinand expel'd the Moores out of Grenado, have made many 
attempts to make themselves Masters of al Europe. And it is 
true, that by the treasures of both Indies, and by the many 
kingdoms which they possesse in Europe, they are at this day 
the most powerfull. 

But as the Turke is now counterpoysed by the Persian, so 
instead of so many millions as have been spent by the English, 
French, and Netherlands in a defensive warre, and in diver- 
sions against them, it is easie to demonstrate, that with the 
charge of two hundred thousand pound continued but for two 
yeeres, or three at the most, they may not onely be perswaded 
to live in peace, but all their swelling and overflowing streames 
may bee brought backe into their naturall channels and old 
bankes. These two nations, I say, are at this day the most 
eminent, and to be regarded ; the one seeking to roote out 
the Christian religion altogether, the other the truth and sincere 
profession thereof ; the one to joyne all Europe to Asia, the 
other the rest of all Europe to Spaine. 

For the rest, if we seeke a reason of the succession and con- 
tinuance of this boundlesse ambition in mortall men, we may 
adde to that which hath beene already said ; that the Kings 
and Princes of the world have alwaies laid before them the 
actions but not the ends of those great ones which preceded 
them. They are alwayes transported with the glorie of the one, 
but they never minde the miserie of the other, till they finde 
the experience in themselves. They neglect the advice of God, 
while they enjoy life, or hope it ; but they follow the counsell 
of Death, upon his first approach. It is hee that puts into man 
all wisedome of the world, without speaking a word, which God 
with all the words of his law, promises, or threats, doth not 
infuse. Death, which hateth and destroyeth man, is beleeved ; 
God, which hath him and loves him, is alwaies deferred. I have 
considered (saith Solomon) all the workes that are under the 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 439 

Sunne, and behold, all is vanitie, and vexation of spirit : but 
who beleeves it, till Death tells it us? 

It was Death, which opening the conscience of Charles the 
P'ifth, made him enjoyne his sonne Philip to restore Navarre ; 
and King Francis the First of France to command that justice 
should be done upon the murderers of the Protestants in Mer- 
indol and Cabrieres, which til then he neglected. It is there- 
fore Death alone that can suddenly make man to know himselfe. 
He tells the proud and insolent that they are but abjects, and 
humbles them at the instant ; makes them crie, complaine, and 
repent, yea, even to hate their forepassed happinesse. He 
takes the account of the rich, and proves him a beggar ; a 
naked beggar, which hath interest in nothing, but in the gravell 
that fills his mouth. He holds a glasse before the eyes of the 
most beautiful, and makes them see therein their deformitie 
and rottenesse ; and they acknowledge it. 

O eloquent, just, and mighty Death ! whom none could 
advise, thou hast perswaded ; what none hath dared thou hast 
done ; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou only hast 
cast out of the world and despised : thou hast drawaie together 
all the farr stretched greatnesse, all the pride, crueltie, and 
ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two narrow 
words. Hie j ace t. 

The two letters that follow show another side of 
Raleigh's character, his active interest in practical mat- 
ters, like shipbuilding, and his experiences in exploration. 

Most Excellent Prince : 261. Raleigh 

If the ship your highness intends to build be bigger than *° Prince 
the Vietorie, then her beams which are laid overthwart from thT'^werr 
side to side will not serve again, and many other of her timbers 
and other stufif will not serve ; whereas if she be a size less, 
the timber of the old ship will serve well to the building of a 
new. If she be bigger she will be of less use, go very deep to 
water, and of mighty charge, — our channels decaying every 
year ; less nimble ; less manyable ; and seldom to be used. 
"■Grande navio, grande fatiea,'" saith the Spaniard. 



440 



Readings in Eiiglish History 



The best way 
to build and 
arm a war 
ship 



A ship of six hundred tons will carrie as good ordinance as 
a ship of twelve hundred tons ; and where the greater hath 
double her ordinance, the less will turn her broadside twice 
before the great ship can wind once, and so no advantage in 
that overplus of guns. The lesser will go over clear, where the 
greater shall stick and perish ; the lesser will come and go ; 
leave or take ; and is yare, whereas the greater is slow, un- 
manyable, and ever full of encumber. In a well conditioned 
ship these things are chiefly required : — 

(i) That she be strong built; — (2) Swift in sail ; — (3) 
Stout-sided ; — (4) That her ports be so laid, as she may carry 
out her guns all weathers ; - — ■ (5) That she hull and trie well ; — 
(6) That she stay well, when boarding or turning on a wind is 
required. ... 

Two decks and a half is enough, and no building at all above 
that but a low master's cabbin. Our masters and mariners will 
say, that the ships will bear more well enough ; and true it is, 
if none but ordinary mariners served in them. But men of 
better sort, unused to such a life, cannot so well endure the 
rowling and tumbling from side to side, where the seas are 
never so little grown, which comes by high charging. Besides 
those high cabbin works aloft are very dangerous in fight, to 
tear men with their splinters. 

Above all things, have care that the great guns be four foot 
clear above water, when all lading is in ; or else these best 
pieces are idle at sea : for if the ports lie lower and be open, it 
is dangerous ; and by that default was a goodly ship and many 
gallant gentlemen lost in the days of Henry the Eighth, before 
the Isle of Wight, in a ship called by the name of Majy Rose. 



262. Raleigh Sweet Heart : 

to his wife, J j,^j^ yg^ write unto you with but a weak hand, for I have 

Raleigh suffered the most violent calenture [fever] for fifteen days, 

(from Guiana) that ever man did, and lived : but God that gave me a strong 

heart in all my adversities hath also now strengthened it in 

the hell-fire of heat. 

We have had two most grievous sicknesses in our ship, of 

which fourtie-two have died, and there are yet many sick ; but 



The Personal MonarcJiy of the Early Stuarts 441 

having recovered the land of Guiana, this 12 of November, I 
hope we shall recover them. We are yet two hundred men ; 
and the rest of our fleet are reasonably strong ; strong 
enough, I hope, to perform what we have undertaken, if the 
diligent care at London to make our strength known to the 
Spanish king by his ambassadour have not taught the Spanish 
king to fortifie all the enterances against us. Howsoever, we 
must make the adventure ; and if we perish, it shall be no 
honour for England, nor gain for his Majestie, to loose, among 
many other, one hundred as valiant gentlemen as England hath 
in it. . . . 

To tell you that I might be here king of the Indians were 
a vanitie ; but ray name hath still lived among them. Here 
they feed me with fresh meat and all that the country yields ; 
all ofTer to obey me. Commend me to poor Carew, my son. 

From Galliana in Guiana, the 14th of November, 161 7. 

There is in existence an interesting series of letters, 
from which the following extracts are taken, written by 
Lord George Carew, a courtier, to Sir Thomas Roe, then 
in India on a mission to the Great Mogul. The letters 
recount the gossip of court at the time, and mention the 
escapades of Sir Walter Raleigh's son Walter, his own 
movements, the rising influence of Buckingham, the in- 
creasing activity of Star Chamber, the settlement of Vir- 
ginia, and other matters of current interest. 

Aprill, Yonge Walter Ralegh in duel hathe wounded Robert 263. Extracts 
Tirwett, my Lord Threasurer's servant. Raleghe fled into the ^^^^ ^^^ 
Low Countries, where he is entertayned by the Prince Maurice, carew to Roe 
Sir Walter Raleghe hathe the libertie of the Tower. Your old 
friend Sir William Lower is dead. 

Mr. George Villers is knighted by his Majestie, and sworne April, 1616 
a gentleman of his bed chamber, and as like to prosper in the 
way of a favorite as any man that hathe preceded him ; and to 
beginne withall he hathe _;^i,ooo a year pention payed him 
out of the Court of Wardes. The Lord Knowles and the Lord 



442 



Readings in English History 



Pocahontas in 
England 



August 27, 
1616 



Fenton were made Knights of the Garter, and they rode to 
Windsor as well accompanied with lordes and gentlemen as 
any which you have seene. 

Sir Julius Caesar, the new Master of the Roles, hathe married 
the widdow Hungatt, sister to the younge Ladie Killygrew, of 
Hanworthe. 

Black Oliver St. John, who was prisoner in the Tower when 
you left England, about a lettre by him written to the Mayor 
of Marleboroughe, is sentenced in the Starre Chamber to pay 
unto his Majestic ;^5,ooo, imprisonment during life, and to 
acknowledge his fault publiquelye in all the courtes in West- 
minster. . . . 

The 20th the Kinges Majestie in person satt in the Starre 
Chamber, where he made a longe speeche, to the admiration 
of the hearers, speakinge more like an angell than a man, and 
he promises to frequent thatt place oftener. 

Sir Thomas Dale retourned frome Virginia ; he hath brought 
divers men and women of thatt countrye to be educated here 
and one Rolfe, who married a daughter of Pohetan (the bar- 
barous prince), called Pocahuntas, hathe brought his wife withe 
him into England. The worst of thatt plantation is past, for 
our men are well victualled by their own Industrie, but yett no 
profit is returned. In the Bermudas little good is expected ; 
they make some tobacco, but of other Industrie I know nothinge. 
Since our plantation there the ratts are so multiplied, whereof 
that island was free, as thatt they destroyed whatsoever is 
planted. . . . 

The 27. of this monethe Sir George Villiers att Woodstocke 
was created Baron of Whaddon, (which was the Lord Grayes 
house,) and Viscount Villiers : he was formerlye Master of the 
Horse when the Earl of Worcester was made Lord Privie Seale, 
which, as I remember, I related unto you in my last lettre ; 
and about the same tyme, by the resignation of the Lord 
Chancelor, he was made Lord Lieutenant of the countie of 
Buckingham. . . , 

Sir Walter Raleghe hathe built a goodlye shipp of 500 tonnes ; 
in this monethe she was lanched, and is called the Destinye. 
God graunt her to be no lesse fortunatt unto her owner than 



The Perso7ial Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 443 

is wished by me ! In Februarie next he purposes to sett sayle 
towardes his golden myne, whereof he is extremely confident. 

The allarme of his jorney is flowne into Spayne, and, as he 
tells me, sea forces are prepared to lye for him, but he is 
nothinge appalled with the report, for he will be a good fleet 
and well manned ; and number and names of his shipps, cap- 
tens, and forces, you shall receve with these. I amm sure he 
will be able to land 500 men, which is a competent armye to 
performe any exploite uppon the continent of America, the 
Spaniards (and especiallye about Orinoque) beinge so poorelye 
planted as they are. . . . 

The 5. the Vicecount Villiers was at Whitehall created Erie January 5, 
of Buckingham ; the Erie of Montgomerie carried his robes, '^'7 
the Erie of Dorset his sword, the Duke of Lennox, as Erie of 
Richmond, his cappe, the Lord Admiral his coronet, and sup- 
ported by the Erie of Suffolk, Lord Threasurer, and the Erie 
of Worcester, Lord Privie Seale. . . . 

This 28. Marche Sir Walter Raleghe's shippe fell downe the March 28, 
river unto the Downes, and himselfe is gone overland to Dover. '^'7 
Untill he come to Plimouthe (where is the rendevous of his 
little fleet) I cannot exactlye send you a report either of his 
shippes, captens, or men. He goes for the Orenoquen myne. 
God graunt he may retourne deepe loden with Guianian gold 
oure! 

V; The Settlement of America 

The following extracts are from the diary of George 
Percy, kept during the voyage of the ships that carried 
the first colonists to Jamestown. 

On Saturday the twentieth of December in the yeere 1606 264. Extracts 
the fleet fell from London, and the fift of January we anchored ^^""^ *^^ 
in the Downes ; but the winds continued contrarie so long, that of the first 
we were forced to stay there some time, where wee suffered colonists of 
great stormes, but by the skilfulnesse of the Captaine wee "^^Si°ia 
suffered no great losse or danger. . . . 

The twelfth day of February at night we saw a blazing 
Starre, and presently a storme. The three and twentieth day 



444 Readings in English History 

we fell with the Hand of Mattanenio in the West Indies. The 
foure and twentieth day we anchored at Dominico, within 
fourteene degrees of the Line, a very faire Hand, the trees full 
of sweet and good smels, inhabited by many Savage Indians. . . . 
April 26, 1607 The six and twentieth day of April about foure a clocke in 
the morning, wee descried the Land of Virginia : the same 
day we entred into the Bay of Chesupioc directly, without any 
let or hindrance ; there wee landed and discovered a little 
way, but wee could find nothing worth the speaking of, but 
faire meddowes and goodly tall Trees, with such Fresh-waters 
running through th€ woods, as I was almost ravished at the 
first sight thereof. 

At night, when wee were going aboard, there came the Sav- 
ages creeping upon all foure, from the Hills, like Beares, with 
their bowes in their mouthes, charged us very desperately in 
the faces, hurt Captaine Gabrille Archer in both his hands, and 
a sayler in two places of the body very dangerous. After they 
had spent their arrowes, and felt the sharpnesse of our shot, 
they retired in to the woods with a great noise, and so left us. . . . 

Wee rowed over to a point of Land, where wee found a 
channell and sounded six, eight, ten, twelve fathom : which 
put us in good Comfort. Therefore wee named that point 
of Land, Cape Comfort. 

The nine and twentieth day we set up a Crosse at Chesupioc 
Bay, and named that place Cape Henry. . . . 
May 12, 1607 The twelfth day we went backe to our ships, and discovered 
a point of Land, called Archers Hope, which was sufficient 
with a little labour to defend our selves against any Enemy. 
The soile was good and fruitfull, with . excellent good timber. 
There are also great store of Vines in bignesse of a mans thigh 
running up to the tops of the trees in great abundance. We 
also did see many squirrels. Conies, Black Birds with crimson 
wings, and divers other fowles and birds of divers and sundrie 
colours of crimson, watchet, yellow, greene, murry, and divers 
other hewes naturally without any art using. 

We found store of Turkic nests and many egges. If it had 
not beene disliked, because the ship could not ride neere the 
shoare, we had setled there to all the CoUonies contentment. 



The Personal. Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 445 

The thirteenth day we came to our seating place in Paspi- Estabiish- 
has Countrey some eight miles from the point of Land, which "'"^"^ 

^ " II- Jamestown 

I made mention before : where our shippes doe he so neere (May 13, 
the shoare that they are moored to the trees in six fathom 1607) 
water. 

The fourteenth day we landed all our men which were set 
to worke about the fortification, and others some to watch and 
ward as it was convenient. . . . 

The foure and twentieth day wee set up a Crosse at the head An exploring 
of this River, naming it Kings River, where we proclaimed voyage up the 

° ° • Tin James River 

James, King of England, to have the most right unto it. When 
wee had finished and set up our Crosse, we shipt our men and 
made for James Fort. By the way wee came to Pohatans Towne 
where the Captaine went on shore, suffering none to goe with 
him ; hee presented the Commander of this place with a Hatchet 
which hee tooke joyfully, and was well pleased. . . . 

The fifteenth day of June we had built and finished our June 15, 
Fort, which was triangle-wise, having three bulwarkes at every '^°7 
corner like a halfe moone, and foure or five pieces of artillerie 
mounted in them. We had made our selves sufficiently strong 
for these Savages, we had also sowne most of our Corne on two 
mountaines ; it sprang a mans height from the ground. This 
countrey is a fruitfull soile, bearing many goodly and fruitfull 
trees, as mulberries, cherries, walnuts, ceders, cypresse, sassafras, 
and vines in great abundance. 

Two of the most prominent of the early "Pilgrim 
Fathers," Bradford and Winslow, left narratives of their 
experiences and those of their people in England, Hol- 
land, and America. The following extracts from these 
narratives extend from the beginning of the persecution 
of the Separatists by the authorities of the established 
church in England, through their period of exile in Hol- 
land to their final arrival and first settlement in New 
England. The early part of the story is best told in 
Bradford's History. 



446 Readings in Fr '. / History 

265. Brad- When as by the travail and diligence of some godly and 

ford's zealous preachers in the parish churches, and God's blessing 

PUtnot'ith on their labours; as in other places of the land of England so 
Plantation [^ ^'\^q north parts, many became inlightened by the word of 
God ; and had their ignorance and sins discovered unto them ; 
and began by his grace to reform their lives and make con- 
science of their ways : the work of God was no sooner mani- 
fest in them, but presently they were both scoffed and scorned 
Puritan min- by the profane multitude ; and the ministers urged with the 
isters re- yoke of Subscription, or else must be silenced. And the poor 

quired to sub- . . 

scribe to the people were so vexed with apparitors and pursuivants, and the 
Thirty-nine commissary courts ; as truly their affliction was not small : 
^ ^'^ ^^ which notwithstanding they bore, sundry years, with much 

patience, till they were occasioned, by the continuance and 
increase of these troubles, and other means which the Lord 
raised up in those days, to see further into things, by the light 
of the word of God ; how not only these base and beggarly 
ceremonies were unlawful ; but also that the lordly and tyran- 
nous power of the prelates ought not to be submitted unto : 
which thus, contrary to the freedom of the gospel, would load 
and burden men's consciences ; and, by their compulsive 
power, make a profane mixture of persons and things in the 
worship of God. And that their offices and callings, courts 
and canons, were unlawful and antichristian : being such as 
have no warrant in the word of God ; but the same were used 
in popery and still retained. ...» 
Formation of So many of these professors as saw the evil of these things, 
Separatist jj^ these parts ; and whose hearts the Lord had touched with 

congregations 

heavenly zeal for his truth ; they shook off the yoke of Chris- 
tian bondage ; and, as the Lord's free people, joined them- 
selves by a covenant of the Lord, into a church estate, in the 
fellowship of the gospel, to walk in all his ways made known, 
or to be made known, unto them, according to their best 
endeavours ; whatsoever it should cost them, the Lord assist- 
ing them. And that it cost them something, this ensuing 
history will declare. . . . 

But, after these things, they could not long continue in any 
peaceable condition ; but were hunted and persecuted on every 



The Personal MonarcJiy of the Early Stuarts 447 

side ; so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in 
comparison of these which now came upon them. For some 
were taken and clapt up in prison. Others had their houses 
beset and watched, night and day ; and hardly escaped their 
hands : and the most were fain to i^y and leave their houses 
and habitations, and the means of their livelihood. Yet these 
and many other sharper things which afterwards befell them 
were no other than they looked for ; and therefore were they 
the better prepared to bear them by the assistance of God's 
grace and spirit. 

Yet seeing themselves molested ; and that there was no 
hope of their continuance there as a church ; by a joint con- 
sent, they resolved to go into the Low Countries, where they 
heard was freedom of religion for all men ; as also how sundry, 
from London and other parts of the land of England, had been 
exiled and persecuted for the same cause, and were gone 
thither, and lived at Amsterdam and in other places of the 
land of Holland. 

So, after they had continued together about a year ; and 
kept their meetings every Sabbath in one place or another, 
exercising the worship of God amongst themselves, notwith- 
standing all the dihgence and malice of their adversaries ; they, , 
seeing they could no longer continue in that condition, re- 
solved to get over in Holland as they could. Which was in 
the years 1607 and 1608. . . . 

Being now come into the Low Countries, they saw many Emigration 
goodly and fortified cities strongly walled and guarded with *° Holland 
troops of armed men. Also they heard a strange and uncouth 
language ; and beheld the different manners and customs of 
the people, with their strange fashions and attires ; all so far 
differing from their plain country villages, wherein they were 
bred and had lived so long, as it seemed they had come into 
a new world. . . . 

And when they had lived at Amsterdam about a year, Master Amsterdam 
Robinson, their pastor, and some others of best discerning, see- ^' °^~' °^^ 
ing how Master John Smith and his company were already 
fallen into contention with the church that was there before 
them ; and no means they could use, would do any good to 



448 Readings in EnglisJi History 

cure the same : and also that the flames of contention were 
likely to break out in the ancient church itself, as afterwards 
lamentably came to pass. 

For these, and some other reasons, they removed to Leyden, 
a fair and beautiful city, and of a sweet situation : but made 
more famous by the university wherewith it is adorned ; in 
which, of late, has been so many learned men. But wanting 
that trafific by sea which Amsterdam enjoys, it was not so ben- 
eficial for their outward means of living and estates. But being 
now here pitched, they fell to such trades and imployments 
as they best could ; valuing peace and their spiritual comfort 
above any other riches whatsoever ; and at length they came to 
raise a competent and comfortable living ; but with hard and 
continual labor. 

Leyden Being thus Settled, after many difficulties ; they continued 

(1609-1620) ixiany years in a comfortable condition, injoying much sweet 
and delightful society and spiritual comfort together in the 
ways of God, under the able ministry and prudent government 
of Master John Robinson and Master William Brewster, who 
was an assistant unto him, in the place of an elder, unto which 
he was now called and chosen by the church. So as they grew 
« in knowledge and other gifts and graces of the spirit of God, 

and lived together in peace and love and holiness. 

And many came unto them, from divers parts of England ; 
so as they grew to a great congregation. . . . 

Reasons for Our reverend pastor, Master John Robinson of late memory ; 

wanting to go ^^^ ^^^ grave elder. Master William Brewster, now both at rest 

to America • , , t i ■ i • 1 • 

With the Lord ; considermg, amongst many other uiconven- 
iences ; how hard the country was where we lived ; how many 
spent their whole estate in it, and were forced to return for 
England ; how grievous it was to live from under the protec- 
tion of the state of England ; how likely we were to lose our 
language and our name of English ; how little good we did, or 
were likely to do, to the Dutch, in reforming the sabbath ; how 
unable there to give such education to our children as we our- 
selves had received ; in their grave wisdoms they thought we 
might more glorify God, do more good to our country, bet- 
ter provide for our posterity, and live to be more refreshed 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 4^[g 

by our labours than ever we could do in Holland where we 
were. ... 

Now these their private thoughts, upon mature deliberation 
they imparted to the brethren of the congregation which, after 
much private discussion, came to public agitation, till at length 
the Lord was solemnly sought in the congregation by fasting 
and prayer to direct us. Who moving our hearts more and 
more to the work, we sent some of good abilities over into 
England, to see what favour or acceptance such a thing might 
find with the king. 

These also found God going along with them, and got Sir 
Edwin Sandys, a religious gentleman then living, to stir in it. 
Who procured Sir Robert Naunton, then principal secretary of 
state to King James of famous memory, to move his Majesty, 
by a private motion, to give way to such a people, who could 
not so comfortably live under the government of another state, 
to enjoy their liberty of conscience under his gracious protec- 
tion in America ; where they would endeavour the advance- 
ment of his Majesty's dominions and the enlargement of the 
gospel by all due means. 

This, his Majesty said, was a good and honest motion : and 
asking what profits might arise in the part we intended (for 
our eye was on the most northern parts of Virginia) it was 
answered " fishing." To which he replied with his ordinary 
asseveration, " So God have my soul ! 't is an honest trade ! 
It was the apostles' own calling ! " 

But afterwards he told Sir Robert Naunton, who took all 
occasions to further it, that we should confer with the bishops 
of Canterbury and London. . . . 

After this, they who stayed accompanied us to Delf shaven. Farewell 
(about twenty-four miles from Leyden) where we were to em- ^^°^ *^°^^ 
bark ; and there feasted us again. And after prayer performed behind in 
by our pastor, where a flood of tears was poured out, they ac- Holland 
companied us to the ship, but were not able to speak one to 
another for the abundance of sorrow to part. But we only 
going aboard the ship lying to the quay and ready to set sail, 
the wind being fair, we gave them a volley of small shot and 
three pieces of ordnance ; and so lifting up our hands to each 



45 O Readings in English History 

other, and our hearts for each other to the Lord our God, we 
departed and found his presence with us in the midst of our 
manifold straits that he carried us through. . . . 

The remaining stages of the journey are more clearly 
and concisely told in the narrative of Winslow, Hypocrisy 
Unmasked. 

266. The Thus, hoisting sail, with a prosperous wind they came in 

^i<^yflo^e^ short time to Southampton ; where they found the bigger ship 
journey come from London, lying ready with all the rest of their com- 
pany. After a joyful welcome and mutual congratulations, 
with other friendly entertainments, they fell to parley about 
their business, how to despatch with the best expedition. . . . 
These troubles being blown over, and now all being com- 
pact together in one ship, they put to sea again with a pros- 
perous wind, which continued divers days together and was 
some incouragement to them. Yet, according to the usual 
manner, many were afflicted with seasickness. 

And I may not omit here a special work of God's provi- 
dence. There was a proud and very profane young man, one 
of the seamen, of a lusty able body, which made him the more 
haughty. He would always be contemning the poor people in 
their sickness, and cursing them daily with grievous execra- 
tions, and he did not let to tell them that he hoped to help to 
cast half of them overboard before they came to their jour- 
ney's end and to make merry with what property they had. 
And if he were by any gently reproved he would curse and 
swear most bitterly. 

But it pleased God before they came half seas over to smite 
this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a 
desperate manner, and so he was himself the first that was 
thrown overboard. Thus his curses lighted on his own head ; 
and it was an astonishment to all his fellows, for they noted it 
to be the just hand of God upon him. . . . 

But to omit other things, that I may be brief, after long 
beating at sea, they fell in with that land which is called Cape 
Cod ; the which being made, and certainly known to be it, 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 451 

they were not a little joyful. After some deliberation had 
amongst themselves and with the master of the ship, they 
tacked about and resolved to stand for the southward, the 
wind and weather being fair, to find some place about Hud- 
son's river for their habitation. But after they had sailed that Arrival in 
course about half the day, they fell amongst dangerous shoals Piyino"*^ 
and roaring breakers, and they were so far intangled therewith, 
as they conceived themselves in great danger ; and the wind 
shrinking upon them withal, they resolved to bear up again for 
the cape ; and thought themselves happy to get out of those 
dangers before night overtook them, as by God's good provi- 
dence they did. And the next day but one they got into the 
Cape harbour where they rid in safety. 



VI. Contests between King and Parliament 

The embittered dispute between King James and par- 
liament reached its crisis in 162 i, in the following angry 
letter from the king and the protest to which it gave origin. 

To our trusty and well-beloved Sir, Thomas Richardson, 267. Letter 

knight, speaker of the House of Commons : °* ^^® ^'°2 

. to the House 

Mr. Speaker, we have heard by divers reports, to our great of commons 

grief, that our distance from the house of parliament, caused (December 3, 
by our indisposition of health, hath emboldened some fiery ^ ^^' 
and popular spirits of some of the House of Commons to argue 
and debate publicly of matters far above their reach and capac- 
ity, tending to our high dishonour and breach of prerogative 
royal. These are therefore to command you to make known 
in our name unto the House that none therein shall presume 
henceforth to meddle with anything concerning our govern- 
ment or deep matters of state, and namely, not to deal with 
our dearest son's match with the daughter of Spain, nor to 
touch the honour of that king or any other our friends and 
confederates ; and also not to meddle with any men's par- 
ticulars, which have their due motion in our ordinary courts 
of justice. 



452 Readings in English History 

And whereas vve hear that they have sent a message to Sir 
Edwin Sandys, to know the reasons of his late restraint, you 
shall in our name resolve them, that it was not for any misde- 
meanor of his in parliament. But, to put them out of doubt 
of any question of that nature that may arise among them 
hereafter, you shall resolve them in our name, that we think 
ourself very free and able to punish any man's misdemeanours 
in parliament, as well during their sitting as after ; which we 
mean not to spare hereafter, upon any occasion of any man's 
insolent behaviour there that shall be ministered unto us. And 
if they have already touched any of these points which we have 
forbidden, in any petition of theirs which is to be sent unto 
us, it is our pleasure that you shall tell them, that except they 
reform it before it comes to our hands, we will not deign the 
hearing nor answering of it. 

Upon receipt of this letter from the king the House 
of Commons drew up and placed on record the following 
document, which has come to be known as the " Great 
Protestation." 

268. Protes- The Commons no\v assembled in parliament, being justly 

tation of the occasioned thereunto concerning sundry liberties, franchises, 
House of I • J 

Commons and privileges of parliament, amongst others here mentioned, 

(December ^q make this protestation following : that the liberties, fran- 
^ ' ■"■ ^ chises, privileges, and jurisdictions of parliament are the 

ancient and undoubted birthright and inheritance of the sub- 
jects of England ; and that the arduous and urgent affairs 
concerning the king, state, and defense of the realm and of 
the church of England, and the maintenance and making of 
laws, and redress of mischiefs and grievances which daily 
happen within this realm are proper subjects and matter of 
counsel and debate in parliament; and that in the handling 
and proceeding of those businesses every member of the house 
of parliament hath and of right ought to have freedom of 
speech, to propound, treat, reason, and bring to conclusion the 
same ; and that the Commons in parliament have like liberty 
and freedom to treat of these matters in such order as in their 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 453 

judgments shall seem fittest; and that every member of the 
said house hath like freedom from all impeachment, imprison- 
ment, and molestation (other than by censure of the house 
itself) for or concerning any speaking, reasoning, or declaring 
of any matter or matters touching the parliament or parliament 
business ; and that, if any of the said members be complained 
of and questioned for anything done or said in parliament, the 
same is to be shewed to the king by the advice and assent of 
all the Commons assembled in parliament, before the king give 
credence to any private information. 

The following letter was written by James Howell, a 
young man then in London, to his father, who was in 
Wales. It is curious to note that among all the difficul- 
ties of which he speaks as confronting the new king he 
does not mention the conflict with parliament, which had 
been so long imminent. This is probably due to the fact 
that the last parliament had been on better terms with 
King James than any of its predecessors, and Howell did 
not see that the old disputes were sure to be revived. 

Sir : 269. James 

I received yours of the third of February, by the hands of Howell to his 
my cousin Thomas Gwin of Trecastle. cember n^" 

It was my fortune to be, on Sunday was fortnight, at Theo- 1625) 
balds, where his late Majesty King James departed this life, 
and went to his last rest upon the day of rest, presently after 
sermon was done. A little before break of day he sent for the 
Prince, who rose out of his bed, and came in his nightgown ; 
the King seemed to have some earnest thing to say to him, 
and so endeavour'd to raise himself upon his pillow ; but his 
spirits were so spent, that he had not strength to make his 
words audible. He died of a fever, which began with an ague, 
and some Scotch doctors mutter at a plaister the Countess of 
Buckingham applied at the outside of his stomach. ' T is thought 
the last breach of the match with Spain, which for so many 
years he had so vehemently desir'd, took too deep an impres- 
sion in him, and that he was forced to rush into a war now in 



454 Readings in English History 

his declining age, having liv'd in a continual uninterrupted 
peace his whole life, except some collateral aids he had sent 
his son-in-law. 

As soon as he expir'd the Privy Council sat, and in less than 
a quarter of an hour King Charles was proclaim'd at Theo- 
balds Court Gate, by Sir Edwin Zouch, Knight Marshal, 
Mr. Secretary Conway dictating to him, that " whereas it has 
pleas'd God to take to his mercy our most gracious Sovereign 
King James of famous memory. We proclaim Prince Charles, 
his rightful and indubitable heir, to be King of England, Scot- 
land, France, and Ireland, etc." The Knight Marshal mistook, 
saying "his rightful and dubitable heir," but he was rectified 
by the Secretary. This being done I took my horse instantly 
and came to London first except one, who was come a little 
before me, insomuch that I found the gates shut. His now 
Majesty took coach, and the Duke of Buckingham was with 
him, and came to St. James'. In the evening he was pro- 
claim'd at Whitehall-gate, in Cheapside, and other places in a 
sad shower of rain ; and the weather was suitable to the con- 
The difficul- dition wherein he finds the kingdom, which is cloudy ; for he 
is left engaged in a war with a potent prince, the people by 
long desuetude unapt for arms, the fleet royal in quarter repair, 
himself without a queen, his sister without a country, the crown 
pitifully laden with debts, and the purse of the state lightly 
ballasted, tho' it never had better opportunity to be rich than 
it had these last twenty years. But God Almighty, I hope, will 
make him emerge, and pull this island out of all these plunges, 
and preserve us from worser times. 

The plague is begun in Whitechapel, and as they say, in 
the same house, on the same day of the month, with the 
same number that dy'd twenty-two years since, when Queen 
Elizabeth departed. 

There are great preparations for the funeral, and there is a 
design to buy all the cloth for mourning white and then to put 
it to the dyers in gross, which is like to save the crown a good 
deal of money. The drapers murmur extremely at the Lord 
Cranfield for it. 



ties of the new 
king- 



TJie Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 455 

I am not settled yet in any stable condition, but I lie wind- 
bound at the Cape of Good Hope, expecting some gentle gale 
to launch out into any employment. 

So, with my love to all my brothers and sisters at the Bryn, 
and near Brecknock, I humbly crave a continuance of your 
prayers and blessing to — 

Your dutiful son, J. H. 

The conflict between king and parliament broke out 
again, immediately after the accession of Charles I, as 
shown in the following extract from the autobiography 
of Sir Simonds D'Ewes. 

. . . The present parliament, which had been adjourned or 270. The dis- 

prorogued on July nth, at l,ondon, to begin again at Oxford pute concern- 
» 111 1 1, 1- 1 1 ing Bucking- 

on August I St, was now suddenly and unexpectedly dissolved, ham in the 

to the great grief of all good subjects that loved true religion, first pariia- 

their king, and the commonwealth. For this, being the first ?if°i° t 

parliament of our royal Charles, should have been a happy (1625) 

occasion and means to have united and settled the affections 

of prince and people in a firm concord and correspondence. 

The duke of Buckingham, a most unfortunate man, being now 

questioned for sundry particulars, would rather hazard the 

final overthrow of the public than endeavor to purge himself 

and justify his actions by a speedy and humble defense. And 

a happy moderation doubtless it had been in the House of 

Commons, if at that meeting they had winked at the duke's 

errors and fallen upon the consideration of many particulars 

in church and commonwealth, which more needed their help 

and assistance. But what the Divine Providence hath decreed 

must come to pass. 

The preamble to the impeachment of Buckingham, 
and parts of the speeches made in its support by certain 
members of the House of Commons before the House of 
Lords follow here. The articles of impeachment are far 
too long for insertion, but the long list of offices granted 



456 Readings in English History 

to Buckingham by the king's favor shows one reason for 
resentment to him. The sudden dissokition of parhament 
by the king, June 15, 1626, brought the trial of the 
impeachment to an end, 

271. Pre- For the speedy redress of great evils and mischiefs and of 

amble to the ^j-jg ^hief cause of these evils and mischiefs, which this king- 
impeach- 
ment of dom of England now grievously suffereth and of late years hath 

Buckingham suffered ; and to the honour and safety of our sovereign lord the 
^^ ^ ' king, and of his crown and dignity, and to the good and welfare 

of his people, the Commons in this present parliament by the 
authority of our said sovereign lord the king assembled, do by 
this their bill shew and declare against George, duke, mar- 
quess, and earl of Buckingham, earl of Coventry, viscount 
Villiers, baron of Whaddon, great admiral of the kingdoms of 
England and Ireland and of the principality of Wales and of 
the dominions and islands of the same, of the town of Calais 
and of the marches of the same, and of Normandy, Gascoigne, 
and Guienne, general governor of the seas and ships of the 
said kingdom, lieutenant general, admiral, captain general, and 
governor of his Majestie's royal fleet and army lately set forth, 
master of the horse of our sovereign lord the king, lord warden, 
chancellor, and admiral of the Cinque Ports, and of the mem- 
bers thereof, constable of Dover Castle, justice in eyre of all 
the forests and chases on this side the river Trent, constable 
of the Castle of Windsor, gentleman of his Majesties bed- 
chamber, one of his Majesties most honourable pri\y council 
in his realms, both in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and 
knight of the most honourable Order of the Garter ; the misde- 
meanours, misprision, offences, crimes, and other matters, com- 
prised in the article following ; and him the said duke do 
accuse and impeach of the said misdemeanours, misprisions, 
offences, and crimes. . . . 

The bitter antagonism to Buckingham is shown in the 
two following extracts from speeches delivered by Sir 
Dudley Digges and Sir John Eliot during the impeach- 
ment. 



The Personal AIo7iarchy of the Early Stuarts 457 

• 

iour lordships have heard in the labors of these two days 272. Extracts 
spent in this service, a representation from the knights, citi- f^°" 
zens, and burgesses of the Commons House of parliament, of speeches'" ^ 
their apprehension of the present evils and dangers of this 
kingdom ; of the cause of the same ; and of the application 
of them to the duke of Buckingham, so clearly and fully as I 
presume your lordships expect I should rather conclude than 
adde anything to his charge. 

Your lordships have heard how his ambition was expressed 
in procuring and getting into his hands the greatest offices of 
strength and power of this kingdom, by what means he had 
attained them, and how money stood for merit. 

There needs no argument to prove this but the common 
sense of the miseries and misfortunes which we suffer. ... 

My lords, I have done. You see the man. Only this which 
was conceived by the knights, citizens, and burgesses should 
be boldly by me spoken, that by him came all these evils, in 
him we finde the cause, and on him we expect the remedies, 
and to this end we met your lordships in conference ; to which, 
as your wisdom invites us, so we cannot doubt, but in your 
lordships' wisdom, greatness, and power we shall in due time 
finde judgment as he deserves. 

A glimpse of the sessions of the parliament that passed 
the Petition of Right is obtained in the following letter 
from a gentlemen then living in Oxford to a friend in 
France. 

What news we received on Saturday you shall find enclosed, 273. Rev. 

and with it the king's speech on Monday before. I saw also Joseph Mead 
, , , , , 1 , ■ ■ r 1 -1, . ^ to Sir Martin 

the keeper s preamble, and the petition for unbilletmg of stuteviile 

soldiers ; but because they were long, and I had no scribe to (April 28, 

write them, I have iiot furnished you with them. And, alas ! ^^^^^ 

what delight could you find in reading them, when you must 

hear that since that time all is grown woful and desperate? I 

have not yet seen this day's letters ; yet all that come from 

London tell us that the parliament is not like to hold above 

three or four days ; that the greater part of the Lords stand 



458 Readings in English History 

• 

for the king's prerogative against the subjects' liberties ; that 
my lord president made a speech in the upper house on the 
king's behalf, endeavouring to show the inconveniences which 
might follow in having our king's hands so tied. Against whom 
the earl of Arundel stood up, confuted him, and made a public 
protestation against him and the rest who were of the same 
opinion, concluding that those liberties which now they would 
betray were those which had cost so much of their prede- 
cessors' blood to maintain them, and for his own part, he was 
resolved to lose his own life and spend his own blood rather 
than he would ever give consent to the betraying of them. Of 
his part were fifty lords and earls. . . . The bishop of Lincoln 
was much commended for what he spoke on behalf of the sub- 
ject, acknowledging he had once offended in the days of his 
late master, in standing for the prerogative to the prejudice of 
the subjects' liberties ; for which he now desired forgiveness, 
professing that henceforward neither hope of greater prefer- 
ments nor fear of the loss of what he presently enjoyed should 
make him do or speak against his conscience. 

The Petition of Right, with its reference to the Great 
Charter, its bold assertion of the rights of the people, 
and the restrictions on royal power which the king was 
forced to accept, is one of the most important documents 
in English history. 

274. Extracts Humbly show unto our sovereign lord the king, the Lords 

fromthePeti- spiritual and temporal, and Commons in parliament assembled, 
tion of Right \ , • • 1 , , , •, , , • 

(1628) that whereas it is declared and enacted by a statute made m 

the time of the reign of King Edward the First, commonly 
called Statutian de Tallagio 71011 Concedendo, that no tallage 
or aid shall be laid or levied by the king or his heirs in this 
realm, without the good will and assent of the archbishops, 
.bishops, earls, barons, knights, burgesses, and other the free- 
men of the commonalty of this realm. 

And where also by the statute called The Great Charter of 
the Liberties of England it is declared and enacted, that no 
freeman may be taken or imprisoned or be disseised of his 



The Pe7'soiia I Monarchy of tlie Early Stuarts 459 

freehold or liberties or his free customs, or be outlawed or 
exiled or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment 
of his peers, or by the law of the land. 

They do therefore humbly pray your most excellent Majesty, The six points 
that no man hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, p |!^^ 
benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent 
by act of parliament ; and that none be called to make answer 
or to take such oath or to give attendance or to be confined 
or otherwise molested or disquieted concerning the same, or 
for refusal thereof ; and that no freeman, in any such manner 
as is before mentioned, be imprisoned or detained ; and that 
your Majesty will be pleased to remove the said soldiers and 
mariners, and that your people may not be so burdened in 
time to come ; and that the foresaid commissions for proceed- 
ing by martial law may be revoked and annulled ; and that 
hereafter no commissions of like nature may issue forth to any 
person or persons whatsoever, to be executed as aforesaid, 
lest by colour of them any of your Majesty's subjects be de- 
stroyed or put to death, contrary to the laws and franchises 
of the land. 

All which they most humbly pray of your most excellent Royal officers 
Majesty, as their rights and liberties and according to the laws ^'^ act m 
and statutes of this realm ; and that your Majesty should also ^ith the law 
vouchsafe to declare that the awards, doings, and proceedings 
to the prejudice of your people, in any of the premises, shall 
not be drawn hereafter into consequence or example ; and 
that your Majesty should be also graciously pleased, for the 
further comfort and surety of your people, to declare your royal 
will and pleasure that in the things aforesaid all your officers 
and ministers shall serve you according to the laws and statutes 
of the realm, as they tender the honour of your Majesty and 
the prosperity of this kingdom. 

Political and religious disputes were closely interwoven, 
and the latter were frequently brought in to embitter 
the relations between Anglican king and Puritan parlia- 
ment, as the following speech by a member of the House 
of Commons, named John Rous, indicates. 



460 ReadiJigs i?i English History 

275. Extract Mr, Speaker, we have of late entered into consideration of 
from a speech ^]^q Petition of Rights and the violation of it, and upon good 
(1620) reason, for it concerns our goods, liberties, and laws ; but there 

is a right of higher nature, that preserves for us far greater 
things, — eternal life, our souls, yea our God himself ; a reli- 
gion derived to us from the King of kings, confirmed upon us by 
the kings of this kingdom, enacted by laws in this place, stream- 
ing down to us in the blood of martyrs, witnessed from heaven 
by miracles, even miraculous deliverances, and this right in the 
name of this nation I this day require and claim that there may 
be a deep and serious consideration of the violation of it. 

These differences of opinion on political and religious 
matters resulted in the scene in parliament described in 
the following contemporary though anonymous account ; 
an occurrence which was followed by the suspension of 
all meetings of parliament for eleven years. 

276. A scene Upon Monday the second of March, as soone as praiers 

^/^J*^^l'^™^°* ^^'ere ended, the Speaker went into the chaire, and delivered 

(March 2, . ^ 

1629) the Kinges command for the adjornement of the Howse untill 

Tewsday sevenight following, being the tenth of March. 

The Howse made him answere, that it was not the office of 
a Speaker to deliver any such command unto them, but fpr the 
adjornement of the Howse it did properly belong unto them- 
selves, and after they had uttered some thinges they thought 
fitt to be spoken of, they would sattisfie the King. 
Sir John The Speaker tould them, he had an expresse command from 

Finch, j^jg Maiestie that as soone as he had delivered his message he 

Sl)G3.1iCr of 

the House should rise, and upon that left the chaire, but was by force drawne 
to it againe by Mr. Densill Holies sonn to the Earle of Clare, Mr. 
Valentine, and others ; and Mt. Hollis, notwithstanding the en- 
deavour of Sir Thomas Edmonds, Sir Humfrey May, and other 
privie Councellers to free the Speaker from the chaire, swore, 
"God's wounds !" he should sitt still until they pleased to rise. 
Lord Weston, Here Sir John Elliott begann in a rhetoricall oration to 
^°^^ enveigh against the Lord Treasorer and the Bishop of Win- 

chester, saying he could prove the Lord Treasorer to be a great 



TJie Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 46 1 

instrument in the innovation of Religion, and invation of the 
liberties of the howse ; and offered a remonstrance to the 
howse, wherein he said he could prove him to be the great 
enimie of the Commonwealth, saying, "This is the Lord 
Treasorer, in whose person is contracted all the evill : I find 
him acting and building on those grounds laid by his master 
the late duke of Buckingham, and his spiritt is moving for 
these interruptions : and from this feare they breake Parlia- 
ments lest Parliaments should breake them. I find him the 
head of all that great party, the Papists ; and all Jesuits and 
Preists derive from him their shelter and protection. In this 
great question of Tonnage and Poundage, instruments moved 
att his command and pleasure, he dismaies our merchants, 
and he invites strangers to come in to drive our trade, and to 
serve their owne ends." 

The Remonstrance which he offered was put to a question, Refusal of 
but the Speaker refused to doe it, and said he was otherwise the speaker 

'■ ,11*° disobey 

commaunded from the King ; whereupon Mr. Selden spake : the king 
" You say, Mr. Speaker, you dare not put the question which 
wee commaund you ; if you will not put it, we must sitt still, 
and thus wee shall never be able to doe anie thing ; they 
which maie come after you maie saie they have the Kinges 
commandment not to doe it. We sitt here, by commaunde- 
ment of the Kinge, under the great Scale ; and for you, you 
are by his Majestie (sitting in his Royall chaire before both 
Howses) appointed our Speaker, and nowe you refuse to be 
our Speaker." The Speaker made an humble supplicatory 
speach unto the Howse with extremitie of weeping, shewing 
what commaund he had received from his Majesty, and withall 
desiring them not to command his ruine ; yet, notwithstanding 
the Speaker's extremetie of weeping and supplicatory oration, 
Sir Peter Hayman (a gentleman of his own county) bitterly 
enveighed against him, and tould him, he was sorrie he was a 
Kentish man, and that he was a disgrace to his country, and 
a blott to a noble familie ; and that all the inconveniences 
that should follow and their distraccion should be derived to 
posteritie as the yssue of his basenes, with whome he should 
be remembred with scorne and disdaine. And that he, for 



462 



Readings in English History 



Anger of 
the king 



his part (since he would not be perswaded to doe his dutie) 
thought it fitting he should be called to the barr, and a newe 
Speaker chosen in the mean time, since neither advise nor 
threatninges would prevaile. Mr. Strowd spake much to the 
same effect, and tould the Speaker that he was the instrument 
to cutt of the libertie of the subject by the roote, and that if 
he would not be perswaded to put the same to question, they 
must all retorne as scattered sheepe, and a scorne put upon 
them as it was last session. 

The King, hearing that the Howse continued to sitt (not- 
withstanding his command for the adjournement thereof) sent 
a messinger for the Serjant with his mase, which being taken 
from the table there cann be noe further proceeding ; but the 
key of the dore was taken from the Serjant and delivered to 
Sir Miles Hubert to keepe, who, after he had receaved the 
same, put the serjant out of the Howse, leaving his mase 
behind him, and then locked the dore. After this, the King 
sent Mr. Maxell (the usher of the black rodd) for the disso- 
lucion of the Parliament ; but being informed that neither he 
nor his message would be receaved by the Howse, the King 
grewe into much rage and passion, and sent for the Captaine 
of the Pentioners and Guard to force the dore ; but the rising 
of the Howse prevented the danger and ill consequence that 
might have followed. 

The following are the three resolutions finally adopted 
at the violent session just described. 



277. The I. Whosoever shall bring in innovation of religion, or by 

three resoiu- favour or countenance seem to extend or introduce Popery or 
tions of .... , .... . ^ , * , 

March, 1629 Armmianism or other opmion disagreemg from the true and 

orthodox church, shall be reputed a capital enemy to this 

kingdom and commonwealth. 

2. Whosoever shall counsel or advise the taking and levying 

of the subsidies of tonnage and poundage, not being granted 

by parliament, or shall be an actor or instrument therein, shall 

be likewise reputed an innovator in the government and a 

capital enemy to the kingdom and commonwealth. 



The Personal ]\Ionarchy of tJie Early Stuarts 463 

3, If any merchant or person whatsoever shall voluntarily 
yield or pay the said subsidies of tonnage and poundage, not 
being granted by parliament, he shall likewise be reputed a 
betrayer of the liberties of England and an enemy to the same. 

VII. The Period of Personal Government of Charles I 

The many prosecutions before Star Chamber and the 
Court of High Commission that took place during the 
next eleven years, from 1629 to 1640, while government 
was being carried on by the king and his ministers with- 
out any meeting of parliament, may be represented by 
the following extracts from the trial of William Prynne, 
a prominent lawyer. 

The 7th of February Mr. William Prynn, utter barrester of 278. Trial of 
Lincolns-Inn, was brought to the Star-Chamber, together with Pt°ii® i° 
Michael Sparkes, William Buckner, and four other defendants, ber (1634) 
upon attorney Noyes' information, which, being opened by 
Mr. Hudson of Grayes-Inn, did set forth, that about 8 Car. 
Reg., Mr. Prynn compiled and put in print a libelous volume, 
entitled by the name of Histriomastix, against plays, masques, 
dancings, etc. And although he knew well that his Majestie's The indict- 
royal Queen, Lords of the Council, etc., were in their publick ""^"* 
festivals and other times present spectators of some masques 
and dances and many recreations that were tolerable and in 
themselves sinless, and so published to be by a book printed 
in the time of his Majestie's royal father ; yet Mr. Prynn in 
his book hath railed, not only against Stage plays, comedies, 
dancings, and all other exercises of the people, and against 
all such as behold them ; but farther in particular against 
hunting, publique festivals, Christmas keeping, bonfires, and 
maypoles ; nay, against the dressing up of a house with 
green ivy. ... 

Prynne's counsel made the following answer : 

That he the said Mr. Prynn, taking into his serious con- 
sideration the frequent resort of sundiy sorts of people to 



464 



Readings in English History 



Answer of common stage plays about the city of London ; and having read 
Prynne's divers councils, laws, and statutes of this and other realms, 
against the frequenting of common stage plays, and the judg- 
ment and opinion of several divines, and other ancient authors, 
and divers English writers allowed by publick authority, and 
his own judgment running with those ; not intending to re- 
flect, or to have relation to the king, queen, state, govern- 
ment, or your lordships, did about seven years ago compile 
this book entitled Histriomastix ; which is no more but a 
collection of divers arguments and authorities against com- 
mon stage plays. . . . 

After three days' trial on"e of the principal ministers 
gave the followring sentence, with which the others agreed. 

Sentence I do in the first place begin censure with his book ; I condemn 
of Prynne j^ ^^ -^^ burnt, in the most publick manner that can be. The man- 
ner in other countries is (where such books are), to be burnt by 
the hangman, though not used in England, yet I wish it may, in 
respect of the strangeness and heinousness of the matter con- 
tained in it, to have a strange manner of burning ; therefore I 
shall desire it may be so burnt by the hand of the hangman. 

If it may agree with the court, I do adjudge Mr. Prynn to 
be put from the barr, and to be for ever uncapable of his pro- 
fession. I do adjudge him, my lords, that the Society of Lin- 
colns Inn do put him out of the Society ; and because he had 
his offspring from Oxford (now with a low voice said the arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, " I am sorry that ever Oxford bred such 
an evil member ") there to be degraded. And I do condemn 
Mr. Prynn to stand in the pillory in two places, in Westmin- 
ster and Cheapside, and that he shall lose both his ears, one 
in each place, and with a paper on his head declaring how foul 
an offense it is, viz. that it is for an infamous libel against both 
their Majesties' state and government. And lastly, nay not 
lastly, I do condemn him in ;j^5ooo fine to the king. And 
lastly, perpetual imprisonment. 

The following is the general form of the writs for 
ship money sent out by the king to the officers of cities 



The Personal Monarchy of the Early Stuarts 465 

and counties. The first writ, in 1634, was really intended 
for its declared purpose; the three later issues, 1635- 
1639, were intended for a general income. 

To the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of our city of Lon- 279. Extracts 

don, and to the sheriffs of the same city and good men in the from the first 

■ , . ,.,,•, 1 1 r 1 writ of ship 

said city and in the liberties and members of the same, greet- money (1634) 

ing : Because we are given to understand that certain thieves, 
pirates, and robbers of the sea, as well Turks, enemies of the 
Christian name, as others, being gathered together, wickedly 
taking by force and spoiling the ships and goods and mer- 
chandises, not only of our subjects but also the subjects of our 
friends on the sea, which hath been accustomed anciently to 
be defended by the English nation, and the same, at their 
pleasure, have carried away, delivering the men in the same 
into miserable captivity ; and forasmuch as we see them daily 
])reparing all manner of shipping farther to molest our mer- 
chants and to grieve the kingdom, unless remedy be sooner 
applied and their endeavours be not more manly met withal; 
also the dangers considered which on every side in these times 
of war do hang over our heads, that it behoveth us and our 
subjects to hasten the defense of the sea and kingdom with all 
expedition or speed that we can. . . . 

We command, firmly enjoining you the aforesaid mayor, London to 
commonalty, and citizens, and sheriffs of the said citv, and the P"'ovide 

seven snips 

good men in the same city and in the liberties and members manned and 
of the same, in the faith and allegiance wherein you are bound equipped 
unto us, and as you do love us and our honor, and under the 
forfeiture of all which you can forfeit to us, that you cause to 
be prepared and brought to the port of Portsmouth, before 
the first day of March now next ensuing, one ship of war of 
the burden of nine hundred tons, with three hundred and fifty 
men at the least, as well expert masters as very able and skillful 
mariners ; one other ship of war of the burden of eight hun- 
dred tons, with two hundred and sixty men at the least, as well 
skillful masters as very able and expert mariners ; four other 
ships of war, every of them of the burden of five hundred 
tons, and every of them with two hundred men at the least as 



466 Readings in English History 

well expert masters as very able and skillful mariners ; and one 
other ship of war of the burden of three hundred tons, with a 
hundred and fifty men, as well expert masters as very able and 
skillful mariners. . . . 

Also we have assigned you, the aforesaid mayor and alder- 
men of the city aforesaid, or any thirteen or more of you, 
within thirteen days after the receipt of this writ, to assess all 
men in the said city and in the liberties and members of the 
same, and the landholders in the same, not having a ship or 
any part of the aforesaid ships nor serving in the same, to con- 
tribute to the expenses about the necessary provision of the 
premises. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE GREAT REBELLION AND THE COMMONWEALTH, 
I 640- I 660 

I. The Lmpeachment of Strafford 

During the period of personal government of Charles I 
the earl of Strafford had come to be looked upon by the 
leaders of the party of popular rights, as Buckingham 
had been ten or fifteen years before, as the embodiment 
and chief support of despotic government. Almost the 
first action of parliament therefore, on its opening in 
1640, was to impeach him. At the great trial which 
now took place in Westminster Hall, not only Strafford 
but the power of the king was being tested, and his con- 
demnation showed that both had fallen. The following 
account of the trial is from the diary of Robert Baillie, a 
Scotchman who was in London at the time, attending to 
the interests of the rebellious Scotch parliament and army. 

The Lieutenant of Ireland came bot on Monday to toun 280. A con- 
late ; on Tuesday rested ; on Wednesday came to Parliament ; temporary 
... , T n 1 T 1 J • account of 

hot ere night he was caged. IntoUerable prydeand oppression the impeach- 

cryes to Heaven for a vengeance. The Lower House closed ment of 
their doores ; the Speaker keeped the keyes till his accusation Strafford 
was concluded. Thereafter, Mr. Pym went up, with a number 
at his back, to the Higher House and, in a prettie short speech, 
did, in name of the Lower House, and in name of the Com- 
mons of all England, accuse Thomas Earle of Strafford, Lord 
Lieutenant of Ireland of high treasone, and required his person 
to be arreisted till probatione might be heard. So Pym and 

467 



468 Readings in English History 

his back were removed ; the Lords began to consult on that 
strange and unexpected motion. The word goes in haste to 
the Lord Lieutenant, where he was with the King ; with speed 
he comes to the House ; he calls rudelie at the doore. James 
Maxwell, keeper of the Black-Rod, opens ; his Lordship, with 
a proud glouming countenance, makes towards his place at the 
boord-head : bot at once manie bids him void the house, so 
he is forced in confusion to goe to doore till he was called. 
After consultation, being called in, he stands, bot is com- 
manded to kneell and, on his knees, to hear the sentence. 
Being on his knees, he is delyvered to the keeper of the 
Black-Rod, to be prisoner till he was cleared of these crymes 
the House of Commons did charge him with. He offered to 
speak, bot was commanded to be gone without a word. In the 
outer roome James Maxwell required him, as prisoner, to 
deliver his sword ; when he had gotten it, he cryes, with a 
loud voyce, for his man to carrie my Lord Lieutenant's sword. 
This done, he makes through a number of people towards his 
coatch, all gazeing, no man capping to him, before whom that 
morning the greatest of England would have stood discovered : 
all crying, "What is the matter?" He said, "A small matter 
I warrand yow ! " They replyed, " Yes indeed, high treason 
is a small matter? . . ." 

Soon afterward the impeachment trial was regularly- 
opened in Westminster Hall, where it continued for 
three weeks. 

Trial in West- AH the doores were keeped verie straitlie with guards; we 
minster Hall j^i^y^ys behooved to be there a little after five in the morning. 

before the ^ i /-^ 

House of ... By favour we got place within the raile, among the Com- 

Lords mons. The House was full dailie before seven ; against eight 

the Earle of Strafford came in his barge from the Tower, ac- 
companied with the Lieutenant and a guard of musqueteers 
and halberders. The Lords, in their robes, were sett about 
eight; the king was usuallie halfe an howre before them; he 
came not into his throne, for that would have marred the 
action ; for it is the order of England, that when the king 
appears he speaks what he will, bot no other speaks in his 



The Great Rebellion and the ComviomvealtJi 469 

presence. At the back of the throne, there was two rooms on 
the sydes ; in the one did Duke de Vanden, Duke de Vallet, 
and other French nobles sit ; in the other the king, the queen, 
Princesse Mary, the Prince Elector, and some Court ladies. 

The tirlies, that made them to be secret, the king brake The king 
down with his own hands ; so they sat in the eye of all, bot removes the 
little more regarded than if they had been absent ; for the before his box 
Lords sat all covered ; those of the Lower House, and all 
other except the French Noblemen, sat discovered when the 
Lords came, not else. A number of ladies was in boxes, above 
the railes, for which they payed much money. It was dailie 
the most glorious Assemblie the Isle could afford ; yet the 
gravitie not such as I expected ; oft great clamour without 
about the doores ; in the intervalles, while Strafford was mak- 
ing readie for answers, the Lords got alwayes to their feet, 
walked and clattered ; the Lower House men too loud clatter- 
ing ; after ten houres, much public eating, not onlie of confec- 
tions, bot of flesh and bread, bottles of beer and wine going 
thick from mouth to mouth without cups, and all this in the 
king's eye ; . . . there was no outgoing to returne ; and oft the 
sitting was till two, or three, or four o'clock. 

The first session was on Monday the 22nd of March. All Beginning of 
being sett, as I have said, the Prince in his robes on a little the trial (Mon- 

QS-V jVl3.rcn 22 

chyre at the syde of the throne, the Chamberland and Black- jg^j) ' 

Rod went and fetched in my Lord Strafford ; he was always 

in the same sute of black, as in doole. At the entrie he gave 

a low courtesie, proceeding a little, he gave a second, when 

he came to his dask a third, then at the barr, the foreface of 

his dask, he kneeled : ryseing quicklie, he saluted both sides of 

the Houses, and then satt down. Some few of the Lords lifted 

their hats to him ; this was his dailie carriage. 

My Lord Steward, in a sentence or two, shew that the 
House of Commons had accused the Earle of Strafford of 
High Treason ; that he was there to answer ; that they might 
manadge their evidence as they thought meet. They desyred 
one of the Clerks to read their impeachment. . . . 

On Tuesday the 13th, all being sett as before, Strafford 
made a speech two hours and ane half ; went through all the 



470 



Readings in Ejiglish History 



Conclusion of articles. ... To all he repeated nought new, hot the best of 
thetriai(Tues- }^jg former answers; and in the end, after some lashness and 
1641) ^" ^' f^gg"''g> ^^ made such ane pathetick oration for ane half houre, 
as ever comedian did upon a stage. . . . 

The prosecution was soon afterward resumed, this 
time in the form of a bill of attainder introduced into 
the House of Commons. 



The bill 
of attainder 
against 
Strafford 



281. Charles I 
to the earl of 
Strafford 
(April 23, 
1641) 



The odiousness of the cryme was referred to the handeling 
of another. This was Mr, Pym, who truelie, to the confession 
of all, in half ane hour, made one of the most eloquent, wise, 
free speeches that ever we heard, or I think shall ever hear. 
Some of the passages of it, and no more bot some, and these 
defaced, I send yow in print, as they have been taken in speak- 
ing by some common hand. To humble the man, God lett his 
memorie faill him a little before the end. His papers he looked 
on ; bot they could not help him to a point or two, so he 
behoved to passe them : I believe the King never heard a lec- 
ture of so free language against that his idolised prerogative. . . . 
For diverse dayes thereafter the House of Commons went on 
with their Bill of Attainture. When it was readie and read 
three diverse dayes, at last it was voyced and carried, only 
fifty-eight contradicting. For this there was great joy among 
us all, and praise to God. 

During Strafford's trial the king wrote to him the 
following letter of protection and comfort. 

Strafford : 

The misfortune that is fallen upon you by the atrange mis- 
taking and conjuncture of these times, being such that I must 
lay by the thought of employing you hereafter in my affairs ; 
yet I cannot satisfy myself in honor or conscience without 
assuring you (now in the midst of your troubles) that upon 
the word of a king you shall not suffer in life, honor, or fortune. 
This is but justice, and therefore a very mean reward from a 
master to so faithful and able a servant as you have showed 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 47 1 

yourself to be ; yet it is as much as I conceive the present 
times will permit, though none shall hinder me from being, 
Your constant, faithful friend, 

Charles R. 

The difficult position in which Charles was placed by 
the condemnation of Strafford is shown in the following 
extract from the contemporary J/£';;/(?n«/i- of Whitelocke. 

The king called both houses of parliament together, and 282. Efforts 
did passionately desire of them not to proceed severely against o* the king to 
the earl, whom he answered for, as to most of the main par- foi-^ q^^y j 
ticulars of the charge against him ; tells them that in conscience 1641) 
he cannot condemn the earl of high treason, and that neither 
fear nor any other respect should make him go against his 
conscience. . . . 

The bill for continuance of the parliament was brought into 
the house the next morning after it was propounded. . . . This 
bill, and the act of attainder, being both passed by the com- 
mons, a conference was had with the lords after they had 
passed them ; and a message sent by some lords to the king, 
to entreat his answer, who promised to satisfy them within 
two days. 

The king being much perplexed upon the tendering of 
these two bills to him, between the clamors of a discontented 
people and an unsatisfied conscience ; he took advice (as some 
reported) of several of the bishops, what to do in this intricate 
affair ; and that the major part of them urged to him the opin- 
ions of the judges, that this was treason, and the bill legal. 
They pressed likewise the votes of the parliament, that he was 
but one man, that no other expedient could be found out to 
appease the enraged people, and that the consequences of a 
furious multitude would be very terrible. Upon all which they 
persuaded him to pass the bills. 

But the chief motive was said to be a letter of the earl of 
Strafford, then sent unto him, wherein the gallant earl takes 
notice of these things, and what is best for his Majesty in these 
straits, and to set his conscience at liberty : he doth most 
humbly beseech him, for prevention of such mischief as may 



472 Readings in EnglisJi History 

happen on his refusal to pass the bill, to remove him out of 
the way, " towards that blessed agreement which God, I trust, 
shall forever establish betwixt you and your subjects. Sir, my 
consent herein shall more acquit you to God than all the world 
can do besides : to a willing man there is no injury done." 

The following letter sent to the House of Lords by the 
hands of Prince Charles gives further indication of the 
king's desire to save Strafford. 

283. Charles I My Lords : 

*f ?^^ ,^®"^® I did yesterday satisfy the justice of the kingdom, by pass- 
(Whitehaii, i^g of the bill of attainder against the earl of Strafford ; but 
May II, 1641) mercy being as inherent and inseparable to a king as justice, 
I desire at this time, in some measure, to show that likewise, 
by suffering that unfortunate man to fulfill the natural course of 
his life in a close imprisonment, yet so that, if ever he make the 
least offer to escape, or offer, directly or indirectly, to meddle 
with any sort of public business, especially with me, either by 
message or letter, it shall cost him his life, without further press. 
This, if it may be done without the discontent of my people, 
will be an unspeakable comfort to me ; to which end, as in 
the first place, I by this letter do earnestly desire your appro- 
bation ; and to endear it the more, have chosen him to carry, 
that of all your house is most dear to me ; so I do desire, that 
by a conference you will endeavor to give the House of Com- 
mons contentment ; likewise assuring you, that the exercise is 
no more pleasing to me than to see both Houses of parliament 
consent, for my sake, that I should moderate the severity of the 
law in so important a case. I will not say that your complying 
with me in this my pretended mercy shall make me more 
willing, but certainly it will make me more cheerful in grant- 
ing your just grievances ; but if no less than his life can satisfy 
my people, I must %^y, fiat justitia. 

Thus again earnestly recommending the consideration of 
my intentions to you, I rest. 

Your unalterable and affectionate friend, 

Charles R. 

If he must die, it were charity to reprieve him till Saturday. 



TJie Great Rebellion and the Coimnomvealth 473 

II. The Crisis of 1642 

The following petition to parliament, known as the 
"Root and Branch Petition," from the use of those 
words in it, was one of several of much the same char- 
acter presented by various counties, towns, and persons 
during the summer of 1641. These petitions indicate 
that the religious question was coming into greater 
prominence and that the Puritans wished to use this 
opportunity to reorganize the church. 

The humble petition of many of his Majesty's subjects in 284. Extracts 

and about the City of London, and several counties of the from the Root 

iL, fill and Branch 

kingdom, sheweth ; That whereas the government ot archbishops petition 

and lord bishops, deans and archdeacons, etc., with their courts 
and ministrations in them, have proved prejudicial and very 
dangerous both to the church and commonwealth ; they them- 
selves having formerly held that they have their jurisdiction or 
authority of human authority, till of these later times, being 
further pressed about their unlawfulness, they have claimed 
their calling immediately from the Lord Jesus Christ, which is 
against the laws of this kingdom, and derogatory to his Majesty 
and his state royal ; and whereas the said government is found 
by woeful experience to be a main cause and occasion of many 
foul evils, pressures, and grievances of a very high nature unto 
his Majesty's subjects in their own consciences, liberties, and 
estates ; as in a schedule of particulars hereunto annexed may 
in part appear. 

We therefore most humbly pray and beseech this honorable Opposition 
assembly, the premises considered, that the said government, j°j^*t^Q„°^r"' 
with all its dependencies, roots, and branches, may be abol- the church 
ished, and all laws in their behalf made void, and the govern- 
ment according to God's word iiiay be rightly placed amongst 
us : and we your humble suppliants, as in duty we are bound, 
will daily pray for his Majesty's long and happy reign over us, 
and for the prosperous success of this high and honorable 
court of parliament. 



474 Readings in English History 

A particular of the manifold evils, pressures, and grievances 
caused, practiced, and occasioned by the prelates and their 
dependents : 

1. The subjecting and enthralling all ministers under them 
and their authority, and so by degrees exempting them from 
the temporal power ; whence follows : 

2. The faintheartedness of ministers to preach the truth of 
God, lest they should displease the prelates ; as namely, the 
doctrine of predestination, of free grace, of perseverance, of 
original sin remaining after baptism, of the sabbath, the doc- 
trine against universal grace, election for faith foreseen, free- 
will against antichrist, nonresidence, human inventions in 
God's worship ; all which are generally withheld from the 
people's knowledge, because not relishing to the bishops. . . . 

Moreover, the offices and jurisdictions of archbishops, lord 
bishops, deans, archdeacons, being the same way of church gov- 
ernment which is in the Romish church and which was in Eng- 
land in the time of popery, little change thereof being made 
(except only the head from whence it was derived), the same 
arguments supporting the pope which do uphold the prelates, 
and overthrowing the prelates, which do pull down the pope : 
Opposition The great conformity and likeness both continued and in- 

monies^^"^^ creased of our church to the church of Rome, in vesture, pos- 
of the church tures, ceremonies, and administrations, namely the bishops' 
rochets and the la\\Ti sleeves, the four-cornered cap, the cope 
and surplice, the tippet, the hood, and the canonical coat ; the 
pulpits clothed, especially now of late, with the Jesuit's badge 
upon them every way : 

The standing up at Gloria Patri and at the reading of the 
Gospel, praying towards the East, the bowing at the name of 
Jesus, the bowing to the altar towards the East, the cross in 
baptism, the kneeling at the communion : 

The turning of the communion tables altar wise, setting 
images, crucifixes, and conceits over them, and taper and 
books upon them, and bowing or adoring to or before them ; 
the reading of the second service at the altar, and forcing 
people to come up thither to receive, or else denying the sac- 
rament to them ; terming the altar to be the mercy seat, or 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 47 5 

the place of God Almighty in the church, which is a plain 
device to usher in the mass : 

The christening and consecrating of churches and chapels, 
the consecrating fonts, tables, pulpits, chalices, churchyards, 
and many other things, and putting holiness in them : 

Profanation of the Lord's day, pleading for it, and enjoin- 
ing ministers to read a declaration set forth, as it is thought, 
by their procurement, for tolerating of sjDorts upon that day, 
suspending and depriving many godly ministers for not reading 
the same only out of conscience, because it was against the 
law of God so to do, and no law of the land to enjoin it. 

The unwise intrusion of the king into the House of 
Commons, in his eagerness to secure the arrest of cer- 
tain leaders against whom he believed he had secured 
evidence of treason, is described in the following extract 
from the diary of Sir Ralph Verney, a member of the 
House of Commons at the time. 

The king sent Mr. Francis, a serjeant-at-armes, to Mr, Speaker 285. Extracts 

with a message, and hee was cald in to the house and deliverd *':°™ ^^f 

1111 rr 1 1 • • 1 • diary of Sir 

It at the barr, but hee was not suiferd to brmg m his mace. Ralph Ver- 

The message was thus, " Mr. Speaker, the king comanded ney (January 
mee, uppon my aleageance, to repaire to you where you are ^' ^^' 
now sittinge, and to demaund five gentlemen, members of 
this house, Mr. Hollis, Sir Arthur Hazlerigg, Mr. Pirn, Mr. 
Hampden, and Mr. William Strood, and when they are de- 
liverd hee comanded mee in his name to arrest them for 
high treason." 

Uppon this hee was comanded to withdraw, and the house 
resolved to send four members to the king, to let him know 
they had received the message and would take it into consid- 
eration, but being there was noe charge deliverd in against 
those five gentlemen, they have not deliverd them, but they 
have taken care to have them in a readinesse to answere any 
legall charge. And then the house commanded Mr. Speaker 
to call upp these five gentlemen by name, and injoyned them 
to attend de die in die^n, till the house took farther order. 



476 Readings in EnglisJi History 

The Serjeant of the house was sent to tell Serjeant Francis, 
that wee had sent to the king about these five gentlemen. 

Mr. Pirn and Mr. Hollis had there papers and studdies 
sealed upp, by warrant under the kings hand, and the house 
sent a serjeant-at-arms to arest those that did it and breake 
of the seales, and had a conference with the lords, and they 
likewise sent to breake oppen the seales and it was donn ac- 
cordingly. Wee sent to them to joyne with us because they 
had protested with us to defend the privileges of parliament. 
January 4, The fivc gentlemen which were to bee accused cam into 
^^^^ the house, and there was information that they should bee 

taken away by force. Uppon this, the house sent to the lord 
mayor, aldermen, and common councell to let them know how 
there priviledges were like to bee broken and the citty put 
into dainger, and advised them to looke to there security. ' 

Likewise some members were sent to the four inns of court, 
to let them know how they heard they were tampred withall 
to assist the king against them, and therfore they desired them 
not to come to Westminster. 

Then the house adjourned till one of the clock. 

As soone as the house mett againe 'twas moved, consider- 
ing there was an intention to take these five men away by 
force, to avoyd all tumult, let them be commanded to absent 
themselves. Uppon this the house gave them leave to absent 
themselves, but entred noe order for it, and then the five 
gentlemen went out of the house. 

A little after, the kinge came, with all his guard and all his 
pentioners and two or three hundred soldiers and gentlemen. 
The king comanded the soldiers to stay in the hall, and sent us 
word hee was at the dore. The speaker was commanded to sit 
still, with his mace lying before him, and then the king came to 
the ilore and tooke the palsgrave in with him and comand all 
that cam with him uppon there lives not to come in. Soe the 
dores were kept oppen, and the earle of Roxborough stood 
within the dore, leaninge uppon it. Then the king cam upp- 
wards, towards the chaire, with his hat off, and the speaker 
steped out to meet him. Then the king steped upp to his 
place, and stood uppon the stepp, but sate not down in the 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 477 

chaire. And after hee had looked a greate while hee told us 
hee would not breake our priviledges, but treason had noe 
priviledge ; hee came for those five gentlemen, for he ex- 
pected obedience yesterday and not an answere. Then hee 
called Mr. Pim and Mr. Mollis by name, but noe answere was 
made. Then he asked the speaker if they were heere, or where 
they were. Uppon that the speaker fell on his knees and de- 
sierd his excuse, for he was a servant to the house and had 
neither eyes nor tongue to see or say anything but what they 
commanded him. Then the king told him he thought his 
owne eyes were as good as his, and then said his birds were 
flowen, but hee did expect the house should send them to 
him and if they did not hee would seeke them himselfe, for 
there treason was foule, and such an one as they would all 
thanke him to discover. Then hee assured us they should have 
a faire triall, and soe went out, putting off his hat till hee came 
to the dore. 

Uppon this the house did instantly resolve to adjourn till 
too-morrow at one of the clock, and in the interim they might 
consider what to doe. 

The two following letters, one from a lawyer in London 
to his father-in-law in the country, the other from the 
king to one of the nobles who took his side, may be 
taken to indicate successive steps in the dispute between 
king and parliament, and the final resort to war. 

Worthy Sir : 286. John 

I do believe you have more news in the country than we Turberviii t 
have here in London. But yours is at the second hand, and io°ugjjbv ' 
therefore I have sent you these pamphlets here inclosed, of (January 29 
the first edition. How the times are, every man knows; what ^*^4i) 
the times will be, no man knows. This very day both the 
houses treated about the suppression of the Irish rebels, but 
in the manner how they should be suppressed there was a dis- 
sention ; the king commanded that there should be a press 
of so many soldiers, and that he by his prerogative would ap- 
point such captains and commanders over them as his Majesty 



4/8 Readings in English History 

thought fit. The greater part of the House of Lords consented, 
but the House of Commons would not agree unless they 
might have the nomination of commanders. There is likewise 
a difference between the two houses about settling this king- 
dom into a posture of defense, both by land and sea. The 
House of Commons would have new lieutenants-, new com- 
manders, and men of their own election in every fortified 
place, and a new privy council about the king's person, and 
new officers. The higher house will leave that to the king, 
and that 's the difference. The Roundhead apprentices flock 
in troops to the parliament house with the protestation on the 
top of their swords, and their long ears cannot endure to hear 
the name of a bishop. The king is now at Windsor, and 't is 
not known when he intends to return here to London. Thus 
with my best wishes and prayers for you, I end, desiring to be 
remembered unto my brother Willoughby and his wife, my 
uncle William, and to all the rest. 

Your ever loving son-in-law whiles I am, 

John Turbervill. 

287. The king This is to tell you that this rebellion is growen to that height. 

to the earl ^^^ j must not looke what opinion men are who at this tyme 
Newcastle ' ^ 

(Shrewsbury, ar willing and able to serve me. Therfore I doe not only per- 

September mit^ but command you, to make use of all my loving subjects 

services, without examining their contienses, more than there 

loyalty to me, as you shall fynde most to conduce to the up 

houlding of my just regall power. So I rest. 

Your most asseured faithfull frend, 

Charles R. 



in. The Period of the War 

The outbreak of the civil war left parliament in entire 
control of the religious as well as the political govern 
ment of the country. The eloquent essay of Milton, 
which he called Areopagitica, from which the following 
extracts are taken, was an appeal to parliament foi 



The Great Rebellion and the Commomvealth 479 

moderation and religious liberty, and for allowing each 
man to think out religious problems for himself. 

Lords and Commons of England, consider what nation it is 288. Extracts 
whereof ye are, and whereof ye are the governments : a nation ^"^""^ ^*^' 
not slow and dull, but of a quick, ingenious, and piercing pagiUca^" 
spirit, acute to invent, suttle and sinewy to discours, not (published 
beneath the reach of any point the highest that human capacity igZ)" ^'^' 
can soar to. Therefore the studies of learning in her deepest 
sciences have bin so ancient and so eminent among us, that 
writers of good antiquity and ablest judgment have bin per- 
swaded that ev'n the school of Pythagoras and the Persian 
wisdom took beginning from the old philosophy of this island. 
And that wise and civill Roman, Julius Agricola, who govern 'd 
once here for Caesar, preferr'd the naturall wits of -Britain 
before the labour'd studies of the French. 

Nor is it for nothing that the grave and frugal Transylvanian 
sends out yearly from as farre as the mountainous borders of 
Russia, and beyond the Hercynian wilderness, not their youth, 
but their stay'd men, to learn our language and our theologic 
arts. Yet that which is above all this, the favour and the love 
of heav'n we have great argument to think in a peculiar man- 
ner propitious and propending towards us. Why else was this The at- 
nation chos'n before any other, that out of her, as out of Sion, tempted 
should be proclaim'd and sounded forth the first tidings and ^f wycliffe 
trumpet of reformation to all Europ ? And had it not bin the 
obstinat perverseness of our prelats against the divine and 
admirable spirit of Wicklef, to suppresse him as a schismatic 
and innovator, perhaps neither the Bohemian Husse and Jerom, 
no nor the name of Luther or of Calvin had bin ever known : 
the glory of reforming all our neighbors had bin compleatly 
ours. But now, as our obdurate clergy have with violence 
demean'd the matter, we are become hitherto the latest and 
the backwardest schollers, of whom God offer'd to have made 
us the teachers. 

Now once again by all concurrence of signs, and by the 
generall instinct of holy and devout men, as they daily and 
solemnly expresse their thoughts, God is decreeing to begin 



Readings in English History 



480 

some new and great period in his church ev'n to the re- 
forming of reformation itself : what does he then but reveal 
himself to his servants, and as his manner is, first to his Eng- 
lishmen ; I say as his manner is, first to us, though we mark 
not the method of his counsels and are unworthy. 

Behold now this vast city, a city of refuge, the mansion 
house of liberty, encompast and surrounded with his protec- 
tion The shop of warre hath not there more anvils and ham- 
mers waking, to fashion out the plates and instruments of 
armed justice in defence of beleagur'd truth, then there be 
pens and heads there, sitting by their studious lamps, musmg, 
searching, revolving new notions and ideas wherewith to 
present, as with their homage and their fealty, the approach- 
ing reformation : others as fast reading, trying all things, assent- 
ing to the force of reason and convincement. What could a man 
require more from a nation so repliant and so prone to seek 
after knowledge? What wants there to such a towardly and 
pregnant soile but wise and faithf ull labourers to make a knowmg 
people a nation of prophets, of sages, and of worthies. We reck'n 
more than five months yet to harvest ; there need not be five 
weeks ; had we but eyes to lift up, the fields are white already. 
Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will 
be much arguing, much writing, many opinions ; for opmion 
in good men is but knowledge in the making. Under these 
fantastic terrors of sect and schism, we wrong the earnest and 
zealous thirst after knowledge and understanding which God 
hath stirred up in this city. What some lament of we rather 
should rejoice at, should rather praise this pious forwardness 
among men to reassume the ill-deputed care of their religion 
into their own hands again. A little generous prudence, a little 
forbearance of one another, and som grain of charity, might 
win all these diligences to joyn and unite into one generall 
and brotherly search after truth; could we but foregoe this 
prelaticall tradition of crowding free consciences and Christian 
liberties into canons and precepts of men. 

The two following letters of Cromwell were written, 
the first just after the battle of Marston Moor, the 



The Great Rebellion and the Covimofiwealth 48 1 

second just after the battle of Naseby. The first, in 
addition to the news of the battle, tells Colonel Walton 
of the death of his son ; the second makes an appeal to 
parliament similar to that of Milton given above, in favor 
of the Independents, who were in danger of suffering from 
persecution by the Presbyterian parliament. 

Deere Sir : 289. Oliver 

It 's our duty to sympathize in all mercyes ; that wee praise Cromwell to 
the Lord together in chastisements or tryalls, that soe wee may valentine 
sorrowe together. Truly England and the Church of God hath Walton 
had a great favor from the Lord in this great victorie given ^J" ^ 5' '^' 
unto us, such as the like never was since this War begunn. 
It had all the evidences of an absolute Victorie obtained by 
the Lord's blessing upon the godly partye principally. Wee 
never charged but wee routed the enimie. The lefte Winge, 
which I commanded, being our owne forse saving a few Scottes 
in our reere, beat all the Prince's horse. God made them as 
stubble to our swords. Wee charged their Regiments of foote 
with our horse and routed all wee charged. The particulars 
I cannot relate now ; but I believe of twenty thousand, the 
Prince hath not four thousand left. Give glory, all the glory, 
to God. 

Sir, God hath taken away your eldest sonn by a cannon 
shott. Itt brake his legge. Wee were necessitated to have itt 
cutt off, whereof hee died. Sir, you know my tryalls this way, 
but the Lord supported mee with this, that the Lord tooke him 
into the happinesse wee all pant after and live for. There is 
your precious child, full of glory, to know sinn nor sorrow any 
more. Hee was a gallant younge man, exceedinge gracious. 
God give you his comfort. . . . 

Your truly faythfull and lovinge brother, 

Oliver Cromwell. 

Sir: 

Beinge commanded by you to this service, I thinke my- 
selfe bound to acquaint you with the good hand of God 
towards you and us. Wee marched yesterday after the Kinge, 



482 Readings in English History 

whoe went before us from Daventree to Haverbrowe, and 
quartered about six miles from him. This day wee marched 
towards him. Hee drew out to meete us. Both Armies en- 
gaged Wee, after three howers fight, very doubtfull, att last 
routed his Armie, killed and tooke about five thousand, very 
many officers, but of what quallitye wee yet know not. Wee 
tooke alsoe about two hundred carrages, all hee had, and all 
his gunnes, being twelve in number, whereof two were demie- 
cannon, two demie-culveringes, and, I thinke, the rest sacers. 
Wee persued the enimie from three miles short of Haver- 
browe to nine beyond, even to sight of Leicester, whither the 

Kinge fled. , , , • i 

,rd Fair- Sir, this is non other but the hand of God, and to him alone 

x's services belongs the glorie wher in none are to share with him. ine 
Generall has served you with all faythfullness and honor, and 
the best commendations I can give him is that I dare say hee 
attributes all to God and would rather perish than assume to 
himselfe ; which is an honest and a thrivinge way, and yett as 
much for bravery may bee given to him in this action as to a 
man. Honest men served you faythfully in this action. Sir, 
they are trusty. I beseech you in the name of God not to 
discourage them. I wish this action may begett thankfulnesse 
and humilitye in all that are concerned in itt. Hee that ven- 
ters his life for the libertye of his countrie, I wish hee trust 
God for the libertye of his conscience and you for the liberty 
hee fights for. In this hee rests, whoe is 

your most humble servant, 

Oliver Cromwell. 

During the whole of the war the king wrote con- 
• stantly to the queen, who was in France. Some of his 
letters of the year 1646, when his fortunes were at 
almost their lowest ebb, are here given. 

Dear Heart : . 

Because I desire to insist upon that which I conceive most 
necessary for our preservation, I refer thee to Sir Edw. Nicholas 
concerning the late unhappy accident in Ireland, and my last 



The Great Rebellion and the Commomvealth 483 

message to London. And first, I earnestly desire thee to believe 291. The 
that what I have sent to the rebells will not procure a peace. ^"^^ to the 
Secondly, that as I have not hitherto quitted foundations, so I f^j-^ pgij. 
am resolved to suffer those afflictions that it shall please God ruary i, 
to inflict upon me, rather than to part with any more. I judge '*^ 
this short preamble necessary to hinder the greatest mischief 
which now can befall me, which is, that supplies should be stopt 
by thinking them needless, as if peace were assured on either 
my present or future concessions. 

As at no time I desire to conceal anything from thee, so at 
this it is most necessary to shew the truth of my present con- 
dition, which is that, considering my own weakness, the small 
or rather no hopes of supplies from either Ireland or Scotland, 
and the rebells' strength, I am absolutely lost if some brisk 
action do not recover me, wherefore, having thought of many, 
I have at last resolved on this. 

I shall, by the grace of God, without fail, draw into a body 
by the end of this February 2000 horse and dragoons ; with 
these I resolve to march into Kent, where I am confident to 
possess some important place not far from the seaside (not 
being out of hope of Rochester), where, if I have either time 
or sufficient strength to settle myself, I shall esteem myself in 
a very good condition. Wherefore I desire thee, as thou lovest 
me, to hasten those men which Jermyn promised me by the 
middle of March ; they must land at or near to Hastings, 
in Sussex. . . . 

So desiring a speedy answer of this letter, I rest eternally 

'^^""' C. R. 

Dear Heart : 292. The 

Albeit that my personal danger must of necessity presede ^^°g t° *'^^ 
thine, yet thy safety seems to be hazarded by my resolution \^^^ Pebru- 
concerning church government. I am doubly grieved to differ ary 19, 1646) 
with thee in opinion, though I am confident that my judginent, 
not love, is censured by thee for it. But I hope, whatsoever 
thou mayest wish, thou wilt not blame me at all, if thou rightly 
understand the state of the question. For I assure thee, I put 
little or no difference between setting up the Presbyterian 



484 Readings in English History 

government, or submitting to the church of Rome. Therefore 
make the case thine own. With what patience wouldest thou 
give ear to him who should persuade thee, for worldly respects, 
to leave the communion of the Roman church for any other? 
Indeed, sweetheart, this is my case ; for, suppose my conces- 
sion in this should prove but temporary, it may palliate though 
not excuse my sin. . . , 

But let not this sad discourse trouble thee (for, as thou art 
free from my faults, so doubtless God has blessings in store for 
thee), it being only a necessary freedom to shew thee that no 
slight cause can make me deny to do what thou desirest, who 

am eternally thine. ^ 

Charles R. 

For God's sake, as thou lovest me, see what may be done 
for the landing of the 5000 men, at the place and by the time 
I wrote to thee the ist of Feb., and with them as much money 
as possibly thou canst. I assure thee that the well-doing of 
this is likely to save both my crown and liberty. 

Dear Heart : 

Amongst all the difficulties against which I have struggled 
in this unparalleled rebellion, none hath been more prejudice 
nor of half that vexation to me, as the causeless stumblings 
and mistakings of my friends ; yet whilst I was rightly under- 
stood by thee, I despised them all ; but, since from whence 
my chief est comfort comes, I am now most mistaken, it may 
easily be judged how my misfortunes are multiplied upon me, 
and, which is worse, how I am deprived of means for the sup- 
porting them ; and realy I should sink under my present mis- 
eries, if I did not know myself innocent of those faults which 
thy misinformed judgment condemns me of. . . . 

294. The king Dear Heart : 

(Newcastte° ''■ '^^^^ nothing this week to say, but to desire thee that thou 

December 26, wilt publickly profess that thou wilt no more press me in matter 

1646) of religion, because thou findest that I have offered as much 

in that point as I can with a safe conscience, which, in thy 

opinion, ought not to be forced upon any terms. 



The Great Rebellion and the Commomvealth 485 

The reason of this I shall expound by my next (which I 
believe will be a dispatch of good importance), how much it 
concerns the safety of him who is eternally thine. 

Charles R. 



IV. The Trial and Execution of the King 

After two periods of war, one against the king him- 
self, the other against a party which wanted to restore 
him without conditions, the inevitable steps for his trial 
and execution were taken, the progress of which is illus- 
trated by the following extract from Whitelock's Memo- 
rials. The first scene is in Westminster Hall, before the 
High Court of Justice. 

The clerk of the court read this aloud : 295. The trial 

Charles Stuart, king of England, you have been accused on °* ^^f ^}^%' 
, r 1 1 /■ 1 • , 1 1 I'l Westmm- 

the behalf of the people of England of high treason and other gter Hall 

crimes ; the court have determined that you ought to answer 

the same. 

King. I will answer the same, so soon as I know by what 
authority you do this. President. If this be all that you would 
say, then, gentlemen, you that brought the prisoner hither, 
take charge of him back again. Kifig. I do require that I may 
give in my reasons why I do not answer, and give me time for 
that. Fresidejit. It is not for prisoners to require. King. Pris- 
oners ! Sir, I am not an ordinary prisoner. 

President. The court hath considered of their jurisdiction ; 
and they have already affirmed their jurisdiction : if you will 
not answer, we shall give order to record your default. Kiiig. 
You have never heard my reasons yet. President. Sir, your 
reasons are not to be heard against the highest jurisdiction. 
King. Show me what jurisdiction, where reason is not to be 
heard. President. Sir, we show it you here, the Commons 
of England ; and the next time you are brought, you will 
know more of the pleasure of the court, and, it may be, their 
final determination. Kitig. Show me wherever the House of 



486 Readings in English History 

Commonswereacourtof judicature of that kind. President. Ser- 
geant, take away the prisoner. 

King. Well, sir, remember that the king is not suffered to 
give in his reasons for the liberty and freedom of his subjects. 
President. Sir, you are not to have liberty to use this language ; 
how great a friend you have been to the laws and liberties of 
the people, let all England and the world judge. King. Sir, 
under favor, it was the liberty, freedom, and laws of the sub- 
ject that ever I took to defend myself with arms ; I never 
took up arms against the people, but for the laws. President. 
The command of the court must be obeyed, no answer will be 
given to the charge. King. Well, sir. . . . 

The justification claimed by the party in parliament 
and in the nation that put Charles to death is expressed 
in the sentence of the High Court of Justice that fol- 
lowed his condemnation. 

Whereas the Commons of England assembled in parliament, 
have by their late act, intituled " An Act of the Commons of 
England assembled in parliament for erecting an High Court 
of Justice for the trying and judging of the said Charles Stuart, 
king of England," authorized and constituted us an High Court 
of Justice for the trying and judging of the said Charles Stuart 
for the crimes and treasons in the said act mentioned ; by virtue 
whereof the said Charles Stuart hath been three several times 
convented before this High Court. 

The first day, being Saturday, the 20th of January, instant, 
in pursuance of the said act, a charge of high treason and other 
high crimes was, in the behalf of the people of England, ex- 
hibited against him and read openly unto him, wherein it was 
charged that he, the said Charles Stuart, being admitted king 
of England, and therein trusted with a limited power to govern 
by and according to the law of the land and not otherwise ; 
and by his trust, oath, and office, being obliged to use the 
power committed to him for the good and benefit of the people 
and for the preservation of their rights and liberties ; yet, never- 
theless, out of a wicked design to erect and uphold in himself 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 487 

an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, 
and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people, and to 
take away and make void the foundations thereof and of all 
redress and remedy of misgovernment, which by the funda- 
mental constitutions of this kingdom were reserved on the 
people's behalf in the right and power of frequent and succes- 
sive parliaments or national meetings in council ; he, the said 
Charles Stuart, for accomplishment of such his designs, and for 
the protecting of himself and his adherents in his and their 
wicked practices, to the same end hath traitorously and mali- 
ciously levied war against the present parliament and people 
therein represented, as with the circumstances of time and 
place is in the said charge more particularly set forth. 

He hath hereby caused and procured many thousands of the His responsi- 
free people of this nation to be slain ; and by divisions, parties, '^'''^y ^°'' *^^ 

. . . .,.,.,,,. . . . . war and its 

and msurrections withm this land, by mvasions from foreign renewal 
parts endeavored and procured by him, and by many other 
evil ways and means, he, the said Charles Stuart, hath not only 
maintained and carried on the said war both by sea and land, 
but also hath renewed, or caused to be renewed, the said war 
against the parliament and good people of this nation in this 
present year 1648 in several counties and places in this king- 
dom in the charge specified ; and he hath for that purpose 
given his commission to his son the Prince and others, whereby, 
besides multitudes of other persons, many such as were by the 
parliament entrusted for the safety of this nation, being by him 
or his agents corrupted to the betraying of their trust, and re- 
volting from the parliament, have had entertainment and corn- 
mission for the continuing and renewing of the war and hostility 
against the said parliament and people. 

By the said cruel and unnatural war so levied, continued, and 
renewed, much innocent blood of the free people of this nation 
hath been spilt, many families undone, the public treasure 
wasted, trade obstructed and miserably decayed, vast expense 
and damage to the nation incurred, and many parts of the land 
spoiled, some of them even to desolation ; and he still contin- 
ues his commission to his said son and other rebels and re- 
volters, both English and foreigners, and to the earl of Ormond 



488 Readings in English History 

and to the Irish rebels and revolters associated with him, from 
whom further invasions of this land are threatened by his pro- 
curement and on his behalf ; and all the said wicked designs, 
wars, and evil practices of him, the said Charles Stuart, were 
still carried on for the advancement and upholding of the per- 
sonal interest of will, power, and pretended prerogative to him- 
self and his family, against the public interest, common right, 
liberty, justice, and peace of the people of this nation ; and he 
thereby hath been and is the occasioner, author, and continuer 
of the said unnatural, cruel, and bloody wars, and therein guilty 
of all the treasons, murders, rapines, burnings, spoils, desola- 
tions, damage, and mischief to this nation, acted and com- 
mitted in the said wars, or occasioned thereby. Whereupon 
the proceedings and judgment of this court were prayed 
against him, as a tyrant, traitor, and murderer, and public 
enemy to the commonwealth, as by the said charge more 
fully appeareth. . . . 
The verdict Now, therefore, upon serious and mature deliberation of the 
premises, and consideration had of the notoriety of the matters 
of fact charged upon him as aforesaid, this court is in judg- 
ment and conscience satisfied that he, the said Charles Stuart, 
is guilty of levying war against the said parliament and people 
and maintaining and continuing the same, for which in the 
said charge he stands accused ; and by the general course of 
his government, counsels, and practices, before and since this 
parliament began (which have been and are notorious and pub- 
lic, and the effects whereof remain abundantly upon record), 
this court is fully satisfied in their judgments and consciences 
that he has been and is guilty of the wicked designs and en- 
deavors in the said charge set forth ; and that the said war 
hath been levied, maintained, and continued by him as afore- 
said, in prosecution and for accomplishment of the said de- 
signs ; and that he hath been and is the occasioner, author, 
and continuer of the said unnatural, cruel, and bloody wars, 
and therein guilty of high treason and of the murders, rapines, 
burnings, spoils, desolations, damage, and mischief to this na- 
tion acted and committed in the said war, and occasioned 
thereby. 



The Great Rebellion and the Com7no7iwealth 489 

For all which treasons and crimes this court doth adjudge The sentence 
that he, the said Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, 
and public enemy to the good people of this nation, shall be 
put to death by the severing of his head from his body. 

The warrant for the execution of the king was issued 
two days after the announcement of his conviction, and 
appointed his death for the next day. 

Whereas Charles Stuart, king of England, is and standeth 297. Death 

convicted, attainted, and condemned of high treason and other Warrant of 

' r. 1 , , Charles I 

crimes ; and sentence upon Saturday last was pronounced (January 

against him by this court, to be put to death by the severing 29, 1649) 

of his head from his body ; of which sentence execution yet 

remaineth to be done ; these are therefore to will and require 

you to see the said sentence executed in the open street 

before Whitehall, upon the morrow, being the thirtieth day of 

this instant month of January, between the hours of ten in the 

morning and five in the afternoon of the same day, with full 

effect. And for so doing this shall be your sufficient warrant. 

And these are to require all ofificers, soldiers, and others, the 

good people of this nation of England, to be assisting unto 

you in this service. 

To Col. Francis Hacker, Col. Huncks, and Lieut.-Col. 

Phayre, and to every of them. 

Given under our hands and seals 

John Bradshaw. 

Thomas Grey. 

Oliver Cromwell, 
etc. 

The dignified bearing of the king during the short time 
between his sentence and his execution is shown by the 
following account of his last night. 

The king's deportment was very majestick and steady ; and 298. An ac- 
tho' his tongue usually hesitated, yet it was very free at this count of ^ 
time, for he was never discomposed in mind. And yet as he i^st night 
confest himself to the bishop of London that attended him 



490 Readings in English History 

one action shockt him very much ; for whilst he was leaning 
in the court upon his staff, which had an head of gold, the 
head broke off on a sudden. He took it up, but seemed un- 
concerned ; yet told the bishop, it really made a great im- 
pression upon him, and to this hour (sayes he) I know not 
possibly how it should come. 'T was an accident, I confess, I 
myself e have often thought on, and cannot imagine how it 
came about : unless Hugh Peters (who was truly and really 
his gaoler, for at St. James' nobody went to him but by 
Peters' leave) had artificially tampered upon his staff; but 
such conjectures are of no use. . . . 

He required Mr. Herbert (a gentleman who was appointed 
to attend him, and who had bin very civill to him and whom 
he recommended likewise to the present king) to call him at 
four of the clock in the morning ; and Mr. Herbert slept little 
himselfe, lying by him on a pallet-bed ; but observed through 
the whole night that the king slept very soundly, and at his 
hour awak'd himself and drew his curtain. He soon got up, 
was about an hour at his own private devotions, and then 
called to be drest ; and Mr. Herbert, who was wont to comb 
his hair, combed it that morning with less care than usually : 
" Prethee (says he) tho' it be not long to stand on my shoul- 
ders, take the same paines with it you were wont to do : I 
am to be a bridegroom to-day and must be trimm." 

His behavior when he came to the scaffold was no less 
simple and dignified. 

299. The Then the king called to Dr. Juxon for his nightcap, and 

having put it on, he said to the executioner, " Does my hair 
trouble you? " He desired it might all be put under the cap, 
which the king did accordingly, by the help of the executioner 
and the bishop. Then the king turning to Dr. Juxon said, " I 
have a good cause and a gracious God on my side." 

Dr. Juxon. There is but one stage more. This stage is tur- 
bulent and troublesome ; it is a short one, but you may con- 
sider it will soon carry you a very great way ; it will carry 
you from earth to heaven, and there you shall find a great 
deal of cordial joy and comfort. King. I go from a corruptible 



execution of 
the king 



The Great Rebellion and the Coimnonwealth 491 

to an incorruptible crown, where no disturbances can be. Dr. 
Juxon. You are exchanged from a temporal to an eternal 
crown, a good exchange. 

Then the king took off his cloak and his George, which he 
gave to Dr. Juxpn, saying, '■'■ Remember^ Some other small 
ceremonies were passed, after which the king stooping down laid 
his neck upon the block, and after a very little pause, stretch- 
ing forth his hands, the executioner at one blow severed his 
head from his body. 

The king died with true magnanimity and Christian patience ; 
his body was put in a coffin, covered with black velvet, and 
removed to his lodging chamber in Whitehall. At this scene 
were many sighs and weeping eyes, and divers strove to dip 
their handkerchiefs in his blood, as in the blood of a martyr. 

The following stanzas from a poem written two years 
after the death of Charles, and by a poet who was cer- 
tainly not a royalist, show the impression made by the 
king's bearing at his execution. 

He nothing common did or mean 300. Two 

Upon that memorable scene ; stanzas from 

-, . , , . , Andrew 

But with his keener eye Marveii 

The axe's edge did try : An Mora- 



tian Ode 



Nor called the gods, with vulgar spite, 
To vindicate his helpless right ; 

But bow'd his comely head 

Down, as upon a bed. 

The extracts from the Eikon Bastlike which follow 
show how the king, or a very close adherent, looked 
upon his actions. The first paragraphs give the king's 
explanation, though an untrue one, of his calling the 
Long Parliament in 1640. The remaining portions 
are addressed to his son, closing with a prayer for 
his enemies. 



492 



Readings hi Ejiglish History 



This last Parliament I called, not more by others' advice and 
necessity of my Affaires, than by my owti choice and inclina- 
tion ; who have alvvaies thought the right way of Parliaments 
most safe for my Crown, as best pleasing to my People. And 
although I was not forgetful of those sparks which some mens 
distempers formerly studied to kindle in Parliaments, (which 
by forbearing to convene for some years I hoped to have 
extinguished ;) yet resolving with Myself to give all just satis- 
faction to modest and sober desires, and to redresse all publick 
Grievances "in Church and State, I hoped (by my freedome 
and their moderation) to prevent all misunderstandings and 
miscarriages in this : In which as I feared affairs would meet 
with some Passion and Prejudice in other men, so I resolved 
they should finde least of them in Myself ; not doubting but 
by the weight of Reason I should counterpoize the over-balanc- 
ings of any Factions. . . . 

No man was better pleased with the convening of this Par- 
liament than Myself ; who knowing best the Largenesse of my 
own Heart toward my Peoples' good and just contentment, 
pleased Myself most in that good and firm understanding 
which would hence grow between Me and my People. 

All Jealousies being laid aside. My own and my Children's 
Interests gave me many obligations to seek and preserve the 
Love and welfare of my Subjects; the onely temporal Bless- 
ing that is left to the ambition of just Monarchs, as their great- 
est Honor and Safety, next God's protection. I cared not to 
lessen Myself in some things of my wonted Prerogative, since 
I knew I could be no loser, if I might gain but a recompense 
in my Subjects Affections. 

I intended not onely to oblige my Friends, but mine Ene- 
mies also ; exceeding even the desires of those that were 
factiously discontented, if they did but pretend to any modest 
and sober sense. 

The Odium and offences which some mens Rigor or Remis- 
ness in Church and State had contracted upon my Government, 
I resolved to have expiated by such Laws and regulations for 
the future, as might not only rectifie what was amiss in Prac- 
tice, but supply what was defective in the Constitution, No 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 493 

man having a greater zeal to see Religion settled, and pre- 
served in Truth, Unity, and Order, than Myself, whom it most 
concerns both in Piety and Policy ; as knowing that. No flames 
of civil Dissentions are more dangerous than those which make 
Religious pretentions the grounds of Factions. 

I resolved to reform what I should by free and full advice 
in Parliament be convinced of to be amiss, and to grant 
whatever my Reason and Conscience told Me was fit to 
be desired. . . . 

Son, if these Papers, with some others, wherein I have set The king's 
down the private reflections of my Conscience and my most appeal to his 
impartial thoughts touching the chief passages which have charles ^\i^^ 
been most remarkable or disputed in my late Troubles, come 
to Your hands, to whom they are chiefly design'd, they may 
be so far useful to You, as to state your Judgment aright 
in what hath passed ; whereof a Pious is the best use can 
be made. . . . 

In these two points, the preservation of established Reli- 
gion and Laws, I may (without vanity) turn the reproach of my 
Sufferings as to the worlds censure into the honour of a kind 
of martyrdom as to the testimony of My own Conscience ; 
the Troublers of my Kingdoms having nothing else to object 
against Me but this. That I prefer Religion and Laws estab- 
lisht before those Alterations they propounded. 

And so indeed I do and ever shall, till I am convinced by 
better Arguments than what hitherto have been chiefly used 
towards Me, Tumults, Armies, and Prisons. . , . 

But if you never see my face again, and God will have Me The king's 
buried in such a barbarous Imprisonment and Obscurity (which devotion to 

^1 r , • -i-N • ■ N 1 • r 1 the Anglican 

the perfecting some mens Designs requires), wherein few hearts church 
that love Me are permitted to exchange a word or a look with 
Me ; I do require and entreat you as your Father and your 
King, that you never suffer your heart to receive the least 
check against or disaffection from the true Religion established 
in the Church of England. I tell you I have tried it, and after 
much search and many disputes have concluded it to be the 
best in the world \ not only in the Community as Christian 



494 Readmgs in English History 

but also in the special notion as Reformed, keeping the middle 
way between the pomp of superstitious Tyranny and the 
meanness of fantastic Anarchy. . . . 

As I have leisure enough, so I have cause more than enough 
to meditate upon, and prepare for my Death ; for I know there 
are but few steps between the Prisons and Graves of Princes. . . . 

That I must dye as a Man is certain : that I may dye a 
King by the hands of my own Subjects, a violent, sudden, and 
barbarous death, in the strength of my years, in the midst of 
my Kingdoms, my Friends and loving Subjects being helpless 
Spectators, my Enemies insolent Revilers and Triumphers over 
Me, living, dying, and dead, is so probable in humane reason, 
that God hath taught Me not to hope otherwise as to man's 
Cruelty ; however 1 despair not of God's infinite mercy. . , . 

Nor do I wish other than the safe bringing of the Ship to 
shore, when they have cast Me over-board : though it be very 
strange, that Mariners can find no other means to appease the 
Storm themselves have raised, but by drowning their Pilot. 

The king's O Lord, Thou knowest I have found their Mercies to Me, 
prayer ^^ ^^^^ false, SO very cruel ; who pretending to preserve Me, 
have meditated nothing but my Ruine. 

O deal not with them as bloodthirsty and deceitful men ; 
but overcome their Cruelty with Thy Compassion and My 
Charity. And when Thou makest inquisition for my Bloud, O 
sprinkle their polluted yet penitent Souls with the Blood of 
thy Son, that thy destroying Angel may pass over them. 

Though they think my Kingdoms on Earth too little to 
entertain at once both them and Me ; yet let the capacious 
Kingdom of thy infinite Mercy at last receive both Me and 
my Enemies ; when being reconciled to Thee in the Blood of 
the same Redeemer, we shall live far above these Ambitious 
desires, which beget such mortal Enemies. 

When their hands shall be heaviest and cruellest upon Me, 
O let Me fall into the arms of thy tender and eternal Mercies ; 
that what is cut off of my Life in this miserable moment, may 
be repay ed in thy ever-blessed Eternity. 

Lord, let Thy servant depart in Peace, for my eyes have 
seen thy Salvation. 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 495 

V. The Commonwealth 

After the execution of the king, the House of Com- 
mons proceeded to pass ordinances abolishing the king- 
ship and the House of Lords, and then by the following 
statute declared England to be a republic, or " common- 
wealth and free state"; after which it appointed a 
Council of State, to take charge of executive affairs. 

Be it declared and enacted by this present parliament, and 302. An act 
by the authority of the same, that the people of England and declaring 
of all the dominions and territories thereunto belonging are to be a 
and shall be, and are hereby constituted, made, established, common- 
and coniirmed to be a commonwealth and free state ; and shall ^^ ^^ 
from henceforth be governed as a commonwealth and free state 1649) 
by the supreme authority of this nation, the representatives 
of the people in parliament, and by such as they shall appoint 
and constitute as officers and ministers under them for the 
good of the people, and that without any king or House 
of I.ords. ^ 

Four years after the foundation of the Commonwealth 
a written constitution was adopted, for the first time in 
English history. It was described as the Instrument of 
Government. It gave high powers to Cromwell, with 
the title of Protector. The government for the next four 
years is therefore known as the Protectorate. 

The government of the Commonwealth of England, Scot- 303. Extracts 
land, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging. ^""""^ *^^ 

I. That the supreme legislative authority of the Common- of Govem- 
wealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the dominions ment 
thereunto belonging shall be and reside in one person and the 

people assembled in parliament ; the style of which person 
shall be the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland. 

II. That the exercise of the chief magistracy, and the ad- 
ministration of the government over the said countries and 



496 



Readings in English History 



dominions and the people thereof shall be in the Lord Pro- 
tector, assisted with a council, the number whereof shall not 
exceed twenty-one nor be less than thirteen. . , . 

V. That the Lord Protector, by the advice aforesaid, shall 
direct all things concerning the keeping and holding of a good 
correspondency with foreign kings, princes, and states ; and 
also, with the consent of the major part of the council, have 
the power of war and peace. . . . 

VIL That there shall be a parliament summoned to meet 
at Westminster upon the third day of September, 1654, and 
that successively a parliament shall be summoned once in 
every third year, to be accounted from the dissolution of the 
present parliament. 

VIIL That neither the parliament to be next summoned, 
nor any successive parliaments, shall, during the time of five 
months, to be accounted from the day of their first meeting, 
be adjourned, prorogued, or dissolved, without their own 
consent. . . . 

XXIV. That all bills agreed upon by the parliament shall 
be presented to the Lord Protector for his consent ; and in 
case he shall not give his consent thereto within twenty days 
after they shall be presented to him, or give satisfaction to the 
parliament within the time limited, that then, upon declara- 
tion of the parliament that the Lord Protector hath not con- 
sented nor given satisfaction, such bills shall pass into and 
become laws, although he shall not give his consent thereunto ; 
provided such bills contain nothing in them contrary to the 
matters contained in these presents. . . . 

XXXIIL That Oliver Cromwell, Captain General of the 
forces of England, Scotland, and Ireland, shall be, and is 
hereby declared to be. Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the dominions there- 
unto belonging, for his life. . . . 

XXXVII. That such as profess faith in God by Jesus Christ, 
though differing in judgment from the doctrine, worship, or 
discipline publicly held forth, shall not be restrained from, but 



The Great Rebellion and the CotnmonzvealtJi 4g'/ 

shall be prptected in the profession of the faith and exercise of Freedom of 
their religion ; so as they abuse not this liberty to the civil religion to all 
injury of others and to the actual disturbance of the public ^gpt Roman 
peace on their parts ; provided this liberty be not extended Catholics and 
to Popery or Prelacy, nor to such as, under the profession of Episcopalians 
Christ, hold forth and practice licentiousness. 

The encouragement of shipping by act of parliament 
u^as one of the few points of policy that remained the 
same under all forms of government, and survived all 
later changes for almost two hundred years. The first 
important act was the following, adopted by the House 
of Commons in the year 165 1. 

For the increase of the shipping and the encouragement of 304. Extracts 
the navigation of this nation, which, under the good provi- from the first 
dence and protection of God, is so great a means of the wel- ^(.^ (1651) 
fare and safety of this commonwealth ; be it enacted by this 
present parliament and the authority thereof, that from and 
after the first day of December, one thousand six hundred fifty 
one, and from thenceforwards, no goods or commodities what- 
soever, of the growth, production, or manufacture of Asia, 
Africa, or America, or of any part thereof ; or of any islands 
belonging to them or any of them, or which are described or 
laid down in the usual maps or cards of those places, as well 
of the English plantations as others, shall be imported or 
brought into this commonwealth of England or into Ireland 
or any other lands, islands, plantations, or territories to this 
commonwealth belonging or in their possession, in any other 
ship or ships, vessel or vessels whatsoever, but only in such as 
do truly and without fraud belong only to the people of this 
commonwealth, or the plantations thereof, as the proprietors or 
right owners thereof ; and whereof the master and mariners are 
also, for the most part of them, of the people of this common- 
wealth, under the penalty of the forfeiture and loss of all the goods 
that shall be imported contrary to this act ; as also of the ship, 
with all her tackle, guns, and apparel, in which the said goods 
and commodities shall be so brought in and imported. . . . 



498 



Readings in English History 



A contemporary journal, kept by Robert Sidney, earl 
of Leicester, describes the forcible dissolution of the 
Long Parliament by Oliver Cromwell. 

Wednesday, 20th April. The parliament sitting as usual, 
and being on debate upon the bill with the amendments, which 
it was thought would have been passed that day, the Lord 
General Cromwell came into the House, clad in plain black 
clothes, with grey worsted stockings, and sat down as he used 
to do in an ordinary place. After a while he rose up, put off 
his hat, and spake ; at the first and for a good while he spake 
to the commendation of the parliament for their pains and 
care of the public good ; but afterwards he changed his style, 
told them of their injustice, delays of justice, self-interest, and 
other faults. Then he said : " Perhaps you think this is not 
parliamentary language ; I confess it is not, neither are you to 
expect any such from me." Then he put on his hat, went out 
of his place, and walked up and do^^Tl the stage or floor in the 
midst of the House, with his hat on his head, and chid them 
soundly, looking sometimes and pointing particularly upon 
some persons, as Sir R. Whitlock, one of the commissioners 
for the Great Seal, and Sir Henry Vane, to whom he gave very 
sharp language, though he named them not, but by his gestures 
it was well known that he meant them. 

After this he said to Colonel Harrison (who was a member 
of the House) : " Call them in." Then Harrison went out and 
presently brought in Lieutenant Colonel Wortley (who com- 
manded the General's own regiment of foot), with five or six 
files of musqueteers, about 20 or 30, with their musquets. Then 
the General, pointing to the Speaker in his chair, said to Har- 
rison : " Fetch him down." Then Harrison went and pulled 
the Speaker by the gown and he came down. It happened 
that day that Algernon Sydney sat next to the Speaker on the 
right hand ; the General said to Harrison,* *' Put him out." 
Harrison spake to Sydney to go out, but he said he would not 
go out, and sat still. The General said again, " Put him out." 
Then Harrison and Wortley put their hands upon Sydney's 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 499 

shoulders, as if they would force him to go out ; then he rose 
and went towards the door. 

Then the General went to the table where the mace lay, 
which used to be carried before the Speaker, and said, "Take 
away these baubles." So the soldiers took away the mace, and 
all the House went out ; and at the going out, they say, the 
General said to young Sir Henry Vane, calling him by his 
name, that he might have prevented this extraordinary course, 
but he was a juggler, and had not so much as common hon- 
esty. All being gone out, the door of the House was locked, 
and the key with the mace was carried away, as I heard, by 
Colonel Otley. 

John Milton had been appointed Latin secretary to the 
government of the Commonwealth. He now addressed 
to the Protector this fine sonnet in favor of religious 
liberty, and in honor of Cromwell himself. 

Cromwell, our chief of men, who, through a cloud 306. Milton 

Not of war only, but detraction rude, *° Cromwell 

(i6S2) 

Guided by faith and matchless fortitude. 

To peace and truth thy glorious way hast plough'd. 
And on the neck of crowned fortune proud 

Hast rear'd God's trophies, and his work pursued, 

While Darwen stream, with blood of Scots imbrued, 

And Dunbar field resounds thy praises loud. 
And Worcester's laureate wreath. Yet much remains 

To conquer still ; peace hath her victories 

No less renown'd than war ; new foes arise 
Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains : 

Help us to save free conscience from the paw 

Of hireling wolves, whose gospel is their maw. 

One of the most attractive men of the time, and the 
keeper of an interesting diary during this whole period, " 
was John Evelyn. He sympathized with the king and 
was devoted to the Anglican church, but chose to go 



500 Readings m English History 

and remain abroad during most of the time of troubles 
rather than join the king in the field. He returned for 
a while and was in London at the time of the execu- 
tion of the king, then went again to the Continent, but 
returned shortly afterward and lived in retirement in 
England, following his favorite studies and keeping his 
opinions quiet till the downfall of the Commonwealth 
and the Restoration in 1660. 

307. Extracts On the 12 th of May I beheld on Tower-hill the fatal stroke 
from ^ which severed the wisest head in England from the shoulders 

diary (1641- ^f the earl of Strafford, whose crime coming under the cogni- 
1660) zance of no human law or statute, a new one was made, not to 

be a precedent, but his destruction. With what reluctancy the 
king signed the execution, he has sufificiently expressed ; to 
which he imputes his own unjust suffering — to such exorbi- 
tancy were things arrived. . . . 
November, 23rd. I returned to London ; and on the 25th saw his 

^^'^^ Majesty ride through the city after his coming out of Scotland 

and a peace proclaimed with great acclamations and joy of the 
giddy people. . . . 

15 th December. I was elected one of the comptrollers of 
the Middle Temple Revellers, as the fashion of the young gen- 
tlemen and students was, the Christmas being kept this year 
with great solemnity ; but, being desirous to pass it in the 
country, I got leave to resign my staff of office, and went with 
my brother Richard to Wotton. . . . 
January, 1642 19th. I went to London, where I stayed till 5th March, 
studying a little, but dancing and fooling more. . . . 

3rd October. To Chichester, and hence the next day to see 
the siege of Portsmouth ; for now was that bloody difference 
between the king and parliament broken out, which ended in 
the fatal tragedy so many years after. It was on the day of its 
being rendered to Sir William Waller ; which gave me an op- 
portunity of taking my leave of Colonel Goring, the governor, 
now embarking for France. This day was fought that signal 
battle at Edgehill. ... 



The Great Rebellion and the Commonwealth 501 

2nd May. I went from Wotton to London, where I saw the fu- May, 1643 
rious and zealous people demolish that stately cross inCheapside. 

On the 4th I returned, with no little regret, for the confu- 
sion that threatened us. Resolving to possess myself of some 
quiet, if it might be, in a time of so great jealousy, I built by 
my brother's permission a study, made a fish pond, an island, 
and some other solitudes and retirements at Wotton ; which 
gave the first occasion of improving them to those waterworks 
and gardens which afterwards succeeded them, and became at 
that time the most famous of England. 

12th July. I sent my black menage horse and furniture with 
a friend to his Majesty, then at Oxford. 

23rd. The Covenant being pressed, I absented myself, but 
finding it impossible to evade the doing very unhandsome 
things, which had been a great cause of my perpetual motions 
hitherto between Wotton and London, October the 2nd, I 
obtained a license of his Majesty, dated at Oxford and signed 
by the king, to travel again. . . . 

loth September. Being called into England, to settle my September, 
affairs after an absence of four years, I took leave of the prince '^47 
and queen, leaving my wife, yet very young, under the care of 
an excellent lady and prudent mother. . . . 

5th October. I came to Wotton, the place of my birth, to 
my brother, and on the loth to Hampton Court, where I had 
the honor to kiss his Majesty's hand, and give him an account 
of several things I had in charge, he being now in the power 
of those execrable villains who not long after murdered him. 
I lay at my cousin, Serjeant Hatton's, at Thomas Ditton, 
whence, on the 13th, I went to London. . . . 

26th April. There was a great uproar in London, that the April, 1648 
rebel army quartering at Whitehall would plunder the city, on 
which there was published a proclamation for all to stand on 
their guard. 

4th May. Came up the Essex petitioners for an agreement 
betwixt his Majesty and the rebels. The i6th, the Surrey men 
addressed the parliament for the same ; of which some of them 
were slain and murdered by Cromwell's guards, in the New 
Palace Yard. . . . 



502 Readings in English History 

1 8th December. I got privately into the council of the rebel 
army, at Whitehall, where I heard horrid villanies. 
January, 1649 17th. To London. I heard the rebel, Peters, incite the 
rebel powers met in the Painted Chamber to destroy his 
Majesty ; and saw that arch traitor, Bradshaw, who not long 
after condemned him. 

2 1 St. Was published my translation of Liberty and Servitude, 
for the preface of which I was severely threatened. 

22nd. The villany of the rebels proceeding now so far as to 
try, condemn, and murder our excellent king on the 30th of 
this month, struck me with such horror that I kept the day of 
his martyrdom a fast, and would not be present at that exe- 
crable wickedness ; receiving the sad account of it from my 
brother George and Mr. Owen, who came to visit me this after- 
noon and recounted all the circumstances. 
December, 4th December. Going this day to our church, I was sur- 

'^53 prised to see a tradesman, a mechanic, step up ; I was resolved 

yet to stay and see what he would make of it. His text was 
from 2 Samuel xxiii. 20 : "And Benaiah went down also and 
slew a lion in the midst of a pit in the time of snow" : the 
purport was, that no danger was to be thought difficult when 
God called for shedding of blood, inferring that now the saints 
were called to destroy temporal governments, with such fecu- 
lent stuff ; so dangerous a crisis were things grown to. . . . 
December, 3rd December, Advent Sunday. There being no office at 

^^54 the church but extemporary prayers after the Presbyterian way, 

for now all forms were prohibited and most of the preachers 
were usurpers, I seldom went to church upon solemn feasts ; 
but, either went to London, where some of the orthodox se- 
questered divines did privately use the common prayer, admin- 
ister sacraments, etc., or else I procured one to officiate in my 
house; wherefore, on the loth. Dr. Richard Owen, the se- 
questered minister of Eltham, preached to my family in my 
library, and gave us the holy communion. . . . 
April, 1655 April 9. I went to see the great ship newly built by the 

usurper Oliver, carrying 96 brass gims and 1000 tons burthen. 
In the prow was Oliver on horseback trampling 6 nations under 
foote, a Scott, Irishman, Dutchman, Frenchman, Spaniard, and 



77/1? G7'eat Rebellion and the CounnomvealtJi 503 

English, as was easily made out by their several habits. A Fame 
held a laurel over his insulting head ; the word, God with us. 

March 25th. . . . The Protector Oliver, now affecting king- March, 1657 
ship, is petition 'd to take the title on him by all his new-made 
sycophant lords, etc., but dares not for feare of the fanatics, 
not thoroughly purg'd out of his rebel army. . . . 

Oct. 22nd. Saw the superb funeral of the Protector. He October, 1658 
was carried from Somerset House in a velvet bed of state 
drawn by six horses, housed with the same ; the pall held by 
his new lords ; Oliver lying in effigy in royalrobes, and crowned 
with a crown, sceptre, and globe, like a king. The pendants 
and guidons were carried by the officers of the army ; the 
imperial banners, achievements, etc., by the heralds in their 
coats ; a rich caparisoned horse, embroidered all over with 
gold ; a knight of honour armed cap-a-pie, and after all, his 
guards, soldiers, and innumerable mourners. In this equipage 
they proceeded to Westminster ; but it was the joyfulest funeral 
I ever saw, for there were none that cried but dogs, which the 
soldiers hooted away with a barbarous noise, drinking and taking 
tobacco in the streets as they went. . . . 

3rd February. Kept the fast. General Monk came now to February,i66o 
London out of Scotland ; but no man knew what he would do 
or declare, yet he was met on his way by the gentlemen of all 
the counties which he passed, with petitions that he would 
recall the old long-interrupted parliament and settle the nation 
in some order, being at this time in most prodigious confusion 
and under no government, everybody expecting what would be 
next and what he would do. . . . 

loth. Now were the gates of the city broken down by Gen- 
eral Monk ; which exceedingly exasperated the city, the soldiers 
marching up and down as triumphing over it, and all the old 
army of the fanatics put out of their posts, and sent out of town. 

nth. A signal day. Monk, perceiving how infamous and 
wretched a pack of knaves would have still usurped the supreme 
power, and having intelligence that they intended to take away 
his commission, repenting of what he had done to the city, 
where he and his forces were quartered, marches to Whitehall, 
dissipates the nest of robbers, and convenes the old parliament ; 



504 Readings in English History 

the Rump Parliament (so called as retaining some few rotten 
members of the other) being dissolved ; and for joy whereof 
were many thousands of rumps roasted publicly in the streets 
at the bonfires this night, with ringing of bells and universal 
jubilee. This was the first good omen. 
Recognition 3rd May. Came the most happy tidings of his Majesty's 
of Charles II gracious declaration and applications to the parliament, gen- 
eral, and people, and their dutiful acceptance and acknowl- 
edgment, after a most bloody and unreasonable rebellion of 
near twenty years. Praised be for ever the Lord of heaven, 
who only doeth wondrous things, because his mercy endureth 
for ever. . . . 

8th May. This day was his Majesty proclaimed in London. 



CHAPTER XVI 

RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION, 1660-1689 

I. The Restoration Settlement 

The conditions on which Charles II returned are 
shown by the declaration which he sent to England 
from Holland, where he was in exile. 

Charles, by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, 308. The 

France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc. To all our ^declaration 

' . r , , 1 • of Breda 

loving subjects, of what degree or quality soever, greeting. (jg^^) 

If the general distraction and confusion which is spread 
over the whole kingdom doth not awaken all men to a desire 
and longing that those wounds which have so many years 
together been kept bleeding may be bound up, all we can say 
will be to no purpose ; however, after this long silence, we 
have thought it our duty to declare how much we desire to 
contribute thereunto ; and that as we can never give over the 
hope in good time to obtain the possession of that right which 
God and nature hath made our due, so we do make it our 
daily suit to the divine providence that he will, in compassion 
to us and our subjects, after so long misery and sufferings, 
remit and put us into a quiet and peaceable possession of that 
our right, with as little blood and damage to our people as is 
possible. Nor do we desire more to enjoy what is ours, than 
that all our subjects may enjoy what by law is theirs, by a full 
and entire administration of justice throughout the land, and 
by extending our mercy where it is wanted and deserved. 

And to the end that the fear of punishment may not engage Pardon for 
any, conscious to themselves of what is past, to a perseverance °'^^"^^^^., 
in guilt for the future, by opposing the quiet and happiness of i^te king 
their country, in the restoration of king, peers, and people to 

505 



5o6 Readings in English History 

their just, ancient, and fundamental rights, we do, by these 
presents, declare, that we do grant a free and general pardon, 
which we are ready, upon demand, to pass under our great 
seal of England, to all our subjects, of what degree or quality 
soever, who, within forty days after the publishing hereof, 
shall lay hold upon this our grace and favor, and shall, by any 
public act, declare their doing so, and that they return to the 
loyalty and obedience of good subjects ; excepting only such 
persons as shall hereafter be excepted by parliament, those 
only to be excepted. 

Let all our subjects, how faulty soever, rely upon the word 
of a king, solemnly given by this present declaration, that no 
crime whatsoever, committed against us or our royal father 
before the publication of this, shall ever rise in judgment, or 
be brought in question against any of them, to the least 
endamagement of them, either in their lives, liberties, or 
estates, or (as far forth as lies in our power) so much as to 
the prejudice of their reputations, by any reproach or term of 
distinction from the rest of our best subjects; we desiring and 
ordaining that henceforth all notes of discord, separation, and 
difference of parties be utterly abolished among all our subjects, 
whom we invite and conjure to a perfect union among them- 
selves, under our protection, for the resettlement of our just 
rights and theirs in a free parliament, by which, upon the word 
of a king, we will be advised. 
Freedom of And because the passion and uncharitableness of the times 
religious have produced several opinions in religion, by which men are 

worship . .... . 11/,-, 

engaged m parties and anmiosities agamst each other (which 
when they shall hereafter unite in a freedom of conversation, 
will be composed or better understood), we do declare a 
liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be dis- 
quieted or called in question for differences of opinion in 
matter of religion which do not disturb the peace of the king- 
dom ; and that we shall be ready to consent to such an act 
of parliament as, upon mature deliberation, shall be offered to 
us, for the full granting that indulgence. 

And because, in the continued distractions of so many years 
and so many and great revolutions, many grants and purchases 



Restoration and Rcvo/ntion 507 

of estates have been made to and by many officers, soldiers, Titles to 
and others, who are now possessed of the same, and who may ^^"'l ^°,^^ 

, . settled by 

be liable to actions at law upon several titles, we are likewise parliament 
willing that all such differences, and all things relating to such 
grants, sales, and purchases, shall be determined in parlia- 
ment, which can best provide for the just satisfaction of all 
men who are concerned. 

And we do further declare, that we will be ready to consent Payment of 
to any act or acts of parliament to the purposes aforesaid, and ^°'^'^'^^ P"""" 
for the full satisfaction of all arrears due to the officers and 
soldiers of the army under the command of General Monk ; 
and that they shall be received into our service upon as good 
pay and conditions as they now enjoy. 

Given under our sign manual and privy signet, at 
our court at Breda, this 14th day of April, 1660, in 
the twelfth year of our reign. 

The spirit in which these offers were received by the 
change-wearied parliament is shown by the following 
extracts from the records of the two Houses. 

Whitehall, Tuesday. The House of Lords being informed 309. Recep- 

that Sir John Grenville attended at the door with a letter from tion of the 

his Majesty, the earl of Manchester, speaker to the House of of Breda by 

Lords, went down near the clock to receive it of him. The parliament 

letter with a declaration inclosed was read in the House, and ^^^X ^' 

1660) 
thanks ordered to be given to Sir John Grenville for bringing 

the gracious letter. 

The House resolved that they do own and declare that 
according to the ancient and fundamental laws of this king- 
dom, the government is and ought to be by king. Lords, and 
Commons. That the Lords having a deep sense of the miseries 
and distractions that the kingdom hath been involved in since 
the violent attempts to dissolve the established government, do 
desire that some way may be considered how to make up these 
breaches ; and to obtain the king's return again to his people. 

Resolved, unanimously. That a committee be appointed to in the House 
prepare an answer to his Majesty's letter, expressing the great °^ Commons 



508 Readings in English History 

and joyful sense of the House of his gracious offers, and their 
humble and hearty thanks to his Majesty for the same, and 
with professions of their loyalty and duty to his Majesty, and 
that this House will give a speedy answer to his Majesty's 
gracious proposals. A committee was appointed accordingly. 
Resolved, unanimously. That the sum of _;j^5o,ooo be pre- 
sented to his Majesty by the House. 

Tuesday afternoon. Resolved, That this House doth agree 
with the Lords and do own and declare, that according to the 
ancient and fundamental laws of this kingdom, the government 
is and ought to be by king, Lords, and Commons. 

Samuel Pepys, writer of the diary from which a num- 
ber of extracts will be made in this chapter, was a 
royalist at heart, and was in London at the time of the 
Restoration. He was in the service of the earl of Sand- 
wich, whom he always refers to as "my lord," and was 
sent with him by parliament to Holland with a fleet to 
bring King Charles to England. His narrative here 
begins with the king embarking in this fleet. 

May 23rd. ... All day nothing but lords and persons of 
honour on board, that we were exceedingly full. Dined in a 
great deal of state, the royall company by themselves in the 
coach, which was a blessed sight to see. I dined with Dr. 
Clerke, Dr. Quarterman, and Mr. Darcy in my cabin. This 
morning Mr. Lucy came on board, to whom and his com- 
pany of the King's Guard in another ship my lord did give 
three dozen bottles of wine. He made friends between Mr. 
Pierce and me. After dinner the king and duke altered the 
The fleet with names of some of the ships, viz. the Nazeby into Charles ; 
i\\Q Richard, Jatfies ; the Speaker, Mary ; . . . That done, the 
queen, princess royal, and prince of Orange took leave of 
the king, and the duke of York went on board the London, 
and the duke of Gloucester, the Swiftsure. Which done, we 
weighed anchor, and with a fresh gale and most happy weather 
we set sail for England. 



Restoration and Revolution 509 

All the afternoon the kmg walked here and there, up and 
down (quite contrary to what I thought him to have been), 
very active and stirring. Upon the quarter-deck he fell into 
discourse of his escape from \\'orcester, where it made me 
ready to weep to hear the stories that he told of his difficulties 
that he passed through, as his travelling four days and three 
nights on foot, every step up to his knees in dirt, with nothing 
but a green coat and a pair of country breeches on, and a pair 
of country shoes that made him so sore all over his feet, that 
he could scarce stir. Yet he was forced to run away from a 
miller and other company, that took them for rogues. His 
sitting at table at one place, where the master of the house, 
that had not seen him in eight years, did know him, but kept 
it private ; when at the same table there was one that had 
been of his own regiment at Worcester, could not know him, 
but made him drink the king's health, and said that the king 
was at least four fingers higher than he. At another place he Adventures 
was by some servants of the house made to drink, that they °^ Charles 
might know him not to be a Roundhead, which they swore he battle of 
was. In another place at his inn, the master of the house, as Worcester 
the king w^as standing with his hands upon the back of a chair 
by the fire-side, kneeled down and kissed his hand, privately, 
saying, that he would not ask him who he was, but bid God 
bless him whither he was going. Then the difficulty of get- 
ting a boat to get into France, where he was fain to plot with 
the master thereof to keep his design from the four men and 
a boy (which was all his ship's company), and so got to Fecamp 
in France. At Rouen he looked so poorly that the people 
went into the rooms before he went away to see whether he 
had not stole something or other. . . . 

24th. Up, and made myself as fine as I could, with the 
stockings on and wide canons [boots] that I bought the other 
day at Hague. Extraordinary press of noble company, and 
great mirth all the day. There dined with me in my cabin 
(that is, the carpenter's) Dr. Earle and Mr. HoUis, the king's 
chaplains. ... I was called to write a pass for my lord Man- 
deville to take up horses to London, which I wrote in the 
king's name and carried it to him to sign, which was the first 



Charles II 
at Dover 



5 lO Readi)igs i7i Ejtglish History 

and only one that he ever signed in the ship Charles. To bed, 
coming in sight of land a little before night, 

25th. By the morning we were come close to the land and 
every body made ready to get on shore. The king and the 
two dukes did eat their breakfast before they went, and there 
being set some ship's diet before them, only to show them 
the manner of the ship's diet, they eat of nothing else but 
pease and pork, and boiled beef. I had Mr. Darcy in my 
cabin and Dr. Gierke, who eat with me, told me how the king 
had given ;^5o to Mr. Sheply for my lord's servants, and ;^5oo 
among the ofificers and common men of the ship. I spoke 
with the duke of York about business, who called me Pepys 
by name, and upon my desire did promise me his future 
favour. Great expectation of the king's making some knights, 
but there was none. 
Landing of About noon (though the brigantine that Beale made was 
there ready to carry him) yet he would go in my lord's barge 
with the two dukes. Our captain steered, and my lord went 
along bare with him. I went, and Mr. Mansell, and one of 
the king's footmen, with a dog that the king loved, ... in a 
boat by ourselves, and so got on shore when the king did, who 
was received by General Monk with all imaginable love and 
respect at his entrance upon the land of Dover, Infinite the 
crowd and the horsemen, citizens, and noblemen of all sorts. 
The mayor of the town came and gave him his white staff, the 
badge of his place, which the king did give him again. The 
mayor also presented him from the town a very rich bible, 
which he took and said it was the thing that he loved above 
all things in the world. A canopy was provided for him to 
stand under, which he did, and talked awhile with General 
Monk and others, and so into a stately coach there set for him, 
and so away through the town towards Canterbury, without 
making any stay at Dover. The shouting and joy expressed 
by all is past imagination. . , , 

The following descriptions of Charles II, James, duke 
of York, and the earls of Clarendon and Shaftesbury, 
tvi'o of the most influential statesmen of the Restoration 



Restoration and Revolution 5 ^ ' 

period, were written by Gilbert Burnet, a learned Scotch 
clergyman who came to England at this time and obtained 
a clerkship under the government, which gave him good 
opportunities of observing, though no great influence or 
income. Later he was appointed bishop of Salisbury, 
and wrote a History of the Reformation and a History 
of His Own Time. 

The king is certainly the best bred man in the world, for the 311. Charac- 
queen mother observed Often the great defects of the late king's ter sketches 
breeding, and the stiff roughness that was in him, by which he etc. 
disobliged very many and did often prejudice his affairs very 
much ; so she gave strict orders that the young princes should 
be bred to a wonderfull civility. The king is civil rather to an 
excess and has a softness and gentleness with him, both in his 
air and expressions, that has a charm in it. The duke would 
also pass for a extraordinary civil and sweet-tempered man, if 
the king were not much above him in hit, who is more natu- 
rally and universally civil than the duke. The king has a vast 
deal of wit, indeed no man has more, and a great deal of judg- 
ment, when he thinks fitt to employ it. He has strange com- 
mand of himselfe ; he can pass from business to pleasure and 
from pleasure to business in so easy a manner that all things 
seem alike to him. He has the greatest art of concealing him- 
selfe of any man alive, so that those about him cannot tell when 
he is ill or well pleased, and in private discourse he will hear 
all sorts of things in such a manner that a man cannot know 
whether he hears them or not, or whether he is well or ill 
pleased with them. He is very affable not only in publick but 
in private, only he talks too much and runns out too long and 
too farr. He has a very ill opinion both of men and of women, 
and so is infinitely distrustfuU ; he thinks the world is governed 
wholly by interests, and indeed he has known so much of the 
baseness of mankind that no wonder if he has hard thoughts 
of them. ... 

He has knowledge in many things, chiefly in all navy af- 
faires; even in the architecture of shipps he judges as critically 



512 Readings in Etiglisli History 

as any of the trade can do, and knows the smallest things be- 
longing to it. He understands much natural philosophy and is 
a good chymist; he knows many mechanical things and the 
inferiour part of the mathematicks, but not the demonstrative. 
He is very little conversant in books, and young and old he 
could never apply himself to literature. . . . 
His opinions He has many odd opinions about religion and morality, 
on religion pjg thinks an implicitness in religion is necessary for the safety 
of government, and he looks upon all inquisitiveness into those 
things as mischievous to the state. He thinks all appetites are 
free, and that God will never damn a man for allowing him- 
selfe a little pleasure ; and on this has so fixed his thoughts 
that no disorders of any kind have ever been seen to give him 
any trouble when they are over ; and in sickness, except his 
ague in '79, he seemed to have no concern on his mind; and 
yet I believe he is no atheist, but that rather he has formed an 
odd idea of the goodness of God in his mind ; he thinks, to be 
wicked and to design mischief is the only thing that God hates, 
and has said to me often, that he was sure he was not guilty of 
that. I think I have gone pretty far, and scarce know how I 
should 'scape under the present chief justice, if this should 
happen to be seased on. 
The duke of I go next to the duke ; he has not the king's witt nor quick- 

York, after- j^ggg ^^^ |.}^^^ ig made up by great application, in so much that 

ward James II i r vi , r i • i i 

he keeps a journal of all that passes, of which he shewed me 
once a great deal, and he has employed the late dutchesse to 
write it out in the style of a history, for she writes very cor- 
rectly, and he intended to have made me prosecute what she 
has begun, — what he shewed me. He has naturally a candour 
and a justice in his temper very great, and is a firm friend, but 
a heavy enemy, and will keep things long in his mind and wait 
for a fitt opportunity. He has a strange notion of government, 
that everything is to be carried on in a high way and that no 
regard is to be had to the pleasing the people ; he has an ill 
opinion of any that proposes soft methods and thinks that is 
popularity ; but at the same time he always talks of law and 
justice. He is apt enough to receive an enemy upon an abso- 
lute submission, but he will strain hard to ruin an enemy that 



Restoration and Revolution 513 

stands out, and when I knew him he scorned at arts to take 
them off (as the phrase at court was of bringmg over leading 
men in the House of Commons to their party), nor will he re- 
ceive any upon half submissions, and he thinks that all who 
oppose the king in parliament are rebells. He understands 
business better than is generally believed, for tho' he is not a 
man of witt nor fancy, yet he generally judges well when things 
are laid before him, except when the violence of his spirit gives 
him a byas, which it does too often. 

He is a prince of great courage and very serious in action 
and naturally hates a coward, unless it be to make use of him 
in the conduct of his amours ; he abhorrs drunkenness, he 
never swears and talks irreligiously ; he has pursued many 
secret pleasures, but never to an open avowing them, and he 
does condemn himself for it ; but yet he is ever going from 
one intrigue to another, tho' it is generally thought that these 
have been very fatal to him and that the death of so many of 
his children is owing to that. He is a zealous and hearty papist, 
of which he gave me this account : when he was in Flanders, 
being in a nunnery, a nunn pressed him much about religion 
and begged him to use this prayer every day to God, that if 
he was not on the right way he would guide him to it, which 
he said sunk deep in his mind and raised scruples in him. . . . 

The great man with the king was Chancellor Hyde, after- Edward 
wards made earl of Clarendon. He had been in the beginning I'yde, earl of 

/•IT -r>i- !•! • 1-1 , Clarendon 

of the Long Parliament very high against the judges upon the 
account of the shipmoney and he became then a considerable 
man. He spoke well, his style had no flow in it, but had a 
juste mixture of witt and sense, only he spoke too copiously ; 
he had a great pleasantness in his spirit, which carried him 
some times too farr into raillery, in which he sometimes shewed 
more witt than discretion. He went over to the court-party, 
when the war was like to breake out, and was very much in 
the late king's councills and confidence dureing the warr, 
tho' he was always of the party that pressed the king to treat, 
and so was not on good terms with the queen. The late king 
recommended him to this king as the person on whose advice 
he wished him to rely most, and he was about the king all the 



514 Readings in English History 

while that he was beyond sea, except a little that he was am- 
bassadour in Spain. He managed all the king's correspondence 
in England, both in the little designes that the cavaliers were 
sometimes engaged in, and chiefly in procuring money for the 
king's subsistance, in which Dr. Shelden was very active. He 
had nothing so much before his eyes as the king's service and 
doated on him beyond expression ; he had been a sort of gov- 
ernour to him and had given him many lectures on the poli- 
ticks. He was thought to assume and dictate too much. 

The earl of He was a man of much witt, and as long as the conversa- 
Shaftesbury ^j^j^ ^.^j^ -j^ generall ramble, he was very entertaining company. 
He knew England well and all the interests in it, and had a 
competent skill in law ; but as to all matter of knowledge the 
quickness of his thoughts was such that he never went to the 
bottom of any thing, but snatched at some hints, which he im- 
proved by his fancy, and so he committed vast errours when he 
talked of matters of learning. As to religion he was a deist 
and seemed to believe nothing of Christianity but only that it 
contained good moralls. He was against bringing in religion 
to the state or imposing it on any ; he had odde notions of a 
future state and thought that our soules went into starrs and 
animated them. He would have talked pleasantly on those 
things, but without any strength of reason, for he never spoke 
closely to any thing but alwaies shifted that and got into a loose 
ramble. His morals were of a piece with his religion. 

He was esteemed a very corrupt man and false to all degrees, 
and that he had no regard to any thing but his own interest, or 
rather his vanity, which was the most fulsome thing I ever saw. 
He turned the discourse allmost allwayes to the magnifying of 
himself, which he did in so gross and coarse a manner that it 
shewed his great want of judgment. He told so many incred- 
ible things of himself that it often put me out of patience. 
He was mightily overcome with flattery, and that and his 
private interests were the only thing that could hold or turn 
him. He had likewise a great dexterity of engaging plain and 
well-meaning men, that had no depth of understanding, to 
admire him and to depend on him, but even these were often 



Restoratioji and Revolution 515 

disgusted with his vanity and indiscretion. He had turned 
often, but done it with dexterity and success and was proud 
of that, so that he would often set out the art that he had 
shewed in it and never seemed to be ashamed of the mean- 
ness or levity of shifting sides so often. 

II. Social Conditions under Charles II 

The following extracts referring to the Quakers will • 
serve to illustrate the position at this time of all those 
outside of the Anglican church, which was in 1660 
reestablished by law. The persecution to which Dis- 
senters were subjected was partly due to the laws 
passed between 1661 and 1665, partly to still older 
laws, and partly to hostile public feeling, as is shown 
by the fact that some of the incidents here referred to 
occurred before the Restoration. The first of the follow- 
ing extracts is a letter from a country gentleman to a 
justice of the peace in 1661 ; the others are contemporary 
narratives of the sufferings of the Quakers. 

Honoured Sir : 312. Richard 

I shal be reddie the next generall sessions to witnesse „J ,°/^*° J"'^" 

° Willoubie 

against Mr. Cole, who you latelie committed to prison, that I (juiy 24, 

found him preaching, as he calleth it, unto a great number of 1661) 
people called Quakers, and mett together contrary to law in 
one Glanfeeld's house, where I hard him utter manie expres- 
sions that tend to sedition, all which I have sett downe in writ- 
ing, and shal testefie to the bench against him. Sir, there is 
one James Glandfeeld and Julian Glandfeeld were at the meet- 
ing also, and have sence spoken very dangirous words ; pray 
fayle not to send me a warrant for them both, according to 
the order given unto my servant. Sir, I render you thankes for 
all your favours, and subscribe my selfe 

Your most humble servant, 

Richard Alford. 



5i6 



Readings in English History 



313. Inci- 
dents from 
Besse's 
Sufferings 
of the 
Quakers 

Kent, 1655 



Colchester, 
1662 



George Rose, after the priest had ended his sermon at 
Hithe, began to exhort the people to turn their minds from 
darkness to Hght, etc., but was haled away by the mayor's 
command, and by the rude multitude kickt and beaten in the 
mayor's presence, and thrown down an high place of stone 
stairs so violently that his life was endangered and one of his 
legs much bruised. 

Henry Clarke suffered three • months imprisonment in 
Maidstone gaol for asking the priest a question in the steeple- 
house at Cranbrook. 

John Higgins, after the priest had ended both his sermon 
and prayer at Dover, spake to the people, directing them to 
the witness of God in their own consciences. He was violently 
dragged away to the mayor's house, and charged with inter- 
rupting the minister by speaking before he had done ; for it 
seems they had a child to sprinkle afterward, of which he 
knew nothing. That circumstance was proved against him, 
and the mayor sent him to prison, where he continued about 
thirty weeks. 

In this year was a grievous persecution of this people for 
their religious meetings at Colchester, where William Moore, 
then mayor, exerted the utmost of his authority to oppress 
them. 

On the 25 th of October he came and forcibly broke up the 
meeting, sending Stephen Crisp and John Pike to prison. On 
the 28th of the same he came again, and having dispersed the 
meeting, he committed Thomas Brown and Thomas Gainford. 
And on the ist of November he sent prisoners also to the 
Moothall, Thomas Bayles and George Wetherly. This method 
proving ineffectual, a party of the county troops were employed 
to go to the meeting, where they beat some and carried others 
to prison, having first broke the forms, seats, and windows of 
the meetinghouse. After this, being kept out of their meet- 
inghouse, they assembled in the street, sometimes in the cold 
and rain, not daring to decline their duty for those incon- 
veniences. Thus they continued constantly meeting twice 
a week, on the first and fourth days of the week, at their 
appointed hour, till the 6th of December, when a troop of 



Restoration and Revobition 517 

horse, who came to town the day before, armed with swords, 
pistols, and carbines, rode in furiously among them, crying 
out, "What a devil do you here?" Some with their swords 
drawn, and others with their carbines, laying on without mercy, 
both on old and young, men and women, beat and bruised 
many exceedingly, chasing them to and fro in the streets, 
after which they broke into several houses to the terror of 
the people. 

The oath of allegiance, which magistrates were em- 
powered by law to require from any one, was always 
refused by Quakers, not because they were disloyal to 
the king but because they did not think it right to take 
any oath at all. This unwillingness to swear was taken 
advantage of to put the Quakers in a false position. 

Then the judge bid the clerk read the oath, which being Berkshire, 
done, he asked Thomas Curtis if he heard it? He answered, ^^^'^ 
Yes. So they held the Bible to him. Then Thomas Curtis 
said, holding the Bible in his hand, " I could read you a better 
lesson in that book." 

They bid him say after the clerk, who read the oath, which 
he did, till he came to that clause, I do swear, etc. Then he 
said, " But I cannot swear, but what I have said I do believe, 
and question not but I shall prove as good a subject to the 
king as soine of you." 

Then George LamhoU was called. They asked him whether 
he would take the oath of allegiance. He answered ; as to the 
oath of obedience he could promise very much, and should 
keep his promise. Then Sarah, his wife, was called. They 
asked her whether she would take the oath. She answered, 
at present she was not satisfied that she might safely do it ; or 
to that purpose. 

The other three, viz. Thomas Tudway, John Paine, and 
James Marloe, were asked the same question. T. Tudway 
queried, whether it were better to obey God or man ? They 
said, that was not the question. 



5i8 



Readings in English History 



Oxfordshire, 
1666 



A Quaker 
refuses to 
remove his 
hat in the 
presence of 
magistrates 



Then Anne Curtis was called to the l)ar. One of the justices 
said, "Come, Nan, I know you will take it." She replied, 
" Yes, if thou or any one could convince me that I might law- 
fully do it and not break Christ's command, who hath said, 
* Swear not at all.' " One of the justices said, " But the apostle 
Paul said, that an oath for confirmation endeth strife." She 
answered, that Christ, the everlasting oath of God, who puts 
an end to strife, himself, I know, saith, "Swear not at all."' 
William Armorer said, "This is the old tone." 

Anne Curtis then said, " It was before thou wast, and will 
be when thou hast no being." 

The justices bid her answer directly, whether she would take 
the oath or no. She replied, " I shall give no other answer 
than I have done." So the gaoler took her away. 

Thomas Nichols was taken by the gaoler and an apparitor, 
and carried to prison. They pretended to have a writ against 
him, but would not let him see it. He was kept under close 
confinement for a long time after, the consequence of a prose- 
cution in the ecclesiastical court for his conscientious absence 
from the publick worship. 

Roger Brown, being chosen an assessor for the land tax, and 
coming before the commissioners with his hat on, they threat- 
ened to send him to prison ; but having no legal matter against 
him, they tendered him the oath of allegiance, which they 
knew he would not take, and thereupon sent him to gaol, 
where he was detained sixteen days. Thus was the law made 
use of to avenge themselves, and to punish a man for not 
humouring their pride. 

Such persecution and religious bigotry was very dis- 
tasteful to Charles II, whether it was directed toward 
Protestant Dissenters or toward the Roman Catholics. 
In 1672, therefore, he tried again, though unsuccessfully, 
to introduce freedom of worship by the following royal 
proclamation. 

Our care and endeavors for the preservation of the rites and 
interest of the church have been sufficiently manifested to the 



Restoration and Revolution 519 

world by the whole course of our government since our happy 314. The 
restoration, and by the many and frequent ways of coercion second 
that we have used for reducing all erring and dissenting ^^ indulgence 
persons, and for composing the unhappy differences in mat- (1672) 
ters of religion, which we found among our subjects upon 
our return. 

But it being evident, by the sad experience of twelve years, 
that there is very little fruit of all these forcible methods, we 
think ourselves obliged to make use of that supreme power in 
ecclesiastical matters which is not only inherent in us but hath 
been declared and recognized to be so by several statutes and 
acts of parliament. 

And therefore we do now accordingly issue this our declara- 
tion, as well for the quieting the minds of our good subjects in 
these points, as for inviting strangers at this time to come and 
live under us, and for the better encouragement of all to a 
cheerful following of their trades, from whence we hope (by 
the blessing of God) to have many good and happy advan- 
tages to our government. 

And in the first place we declare our express resolution, 
meaning, and intention to be that the Church of England 
be preserved and remain entire in its doctrine, discipline, 
and government, as now it stands established by law, etc. 

We do in the next place declare our will and pleasure to be All laws 
that the execution of all and all mancer of penal laws in matters ^g^mst free- 
ecclesiastical, against whatsoever sort of nonconformists or re- worship 
cusants, be immediately suspended, and they are hereby sus- suspended 
pended ; and all judges, sheriffs, justices of the peace, etc., are 
to take notice of it and pay due obedience thereunto. 

And we do declare that we shall from time to time allow a Separate 
sufficient number of places, as they shall be desired in all parts church build- 
of this our kingdom, for the use of such as do not conform to allowed 
the Church of England, to meet and assemble in, in order to 
their publick worship and devotion, which places shall be open 
and free to all persons. 

[Catholics, however, were, according to later provisions of 
the proclamation, only to be allowed to worship in their private 
houses.] 



520 Readings in English History 

The following journal of occurrences kept by a Dutch 
official at New Amsterdam, or New York, during the 
attack upon that colony, and its capture by the English 
in 1664, will serve to illustrate the constantly renewed 
hostility between England and Holland at this time. 

315. A jour- 14th of August. Received information that four frigates had 

nalof the arrived with men from England to occupy New Netherland. 

capture ° 

of New 15th. Placed ourselves in posture of defense. 

Amsterdam i6th. Received intelligence that one of the frigates had 

arrived in the bay. 

17th. Received intelligence that the English general was on 

board, and that more men-of-war were about to follow ; the 

English have detained one Claes Verkaeck's sloop. 

1 8th. News arrived that three more frigates had arrived in 

the bay ; sent to the surrounding villages for assistance, and 

are assured that a proclamation, without day or date, was 

sent to the villages all around, stating in substance what is 

set forth below. 

Whereas his Majesty, by commission under the great seal, 
hath sent us to reduce under his Majesty's obedience all such 
foreigners as have, without his Majesty's consent, settled and 
planted themselves between or in any of his Majesty's domains 
in America, to the prejudice of his Majesty's subjects and the 
diminution of his royal dignity, we do declare and promise that 
all those who will submit, of what nation soever they be, &c. 

(Signed) R. Nicol. 

George Carwricks. 
James Mavryck. 

19th. Rec^ived an answer from the villages, to which we had 
applied for help to defend ourselves, that they could not leave 
their villages, wives, and children a prey, whilst aiding to de- 
fend another place, not knowing what might happen to them 
from the English. Sent some commissioners to the commanders 
of the English frigates, requesting to know from them the object 
of their coming and remaining in the roadstead before Nyack, 



Restoration arid Revolution 521 

without having as yet, to our great surprise, given any knowl- 
edge thereof to the government, as they were bound to do. 

20th. The commissioners reported in substance that the The English 
EngUsh general had openly declared that he was come to disregard the 

1 1- • 1 11- r , ■ -Kr ■ r T^ Dutch claim 

reduce this province to the obedience of his Majesty of Eng- ^^ earlier 
land, to that end exhibiting to them the commission given him settlement 
by his Majesty. Moreover, that he would not lend himself to 
any argument as to his Majesty's right, and whether the Dutch 
had any title to this place ; but said he left all such to be vin- 
dicated by the king himself, for, had his Majesty commissioned 
him to attack Amsterdam, in Holland, he should make no 
scruple about undertaking the business, leaving its justification 
to the king. He would send a written answer next morning to 
the letter transmitted to him by the commissioners. 

Ditto. The English chased and overhauled a boat with 
negroes belonging to the burgomasters of the city of Amster- 
dam, in Holland, but the negroes had fled with a Dutchman 
into the woods ; the English took the boat with some men. A 
burgher coming from without was taken prisoner by the Eng- 
lish, who fired some grape at him. They commanded the 
farmers up and down the river and on Long Island not to 
furnish any provisions to the city. 

2ist. Received a letter from the English general in answer 
to ours, but unsigned. 

22nd August. English deputies came with said letter signed, 
setting forth in abundance that his Majesty's right to this place 
was indisputable, without, however, wanting to enter into any 
debate thereupon, demanding its surrender, threatening if re- 
sisted, and promising to allow each to retain his property, if 
the place were voluntarily given up. 

24th August. Inspected the fort and considered what was 
to be done. 

25th August. The English force came nearer ; it was joined 
by Captain Schott and his horse and foot, who had heretofore 
summoned Long Island. Whereupon again sent delegates with 
a letter to the English general. . , . 

26th August. Resolved to treat for a surrender, and sign Negotiations 

powers on both sides. for surrender 



522 Readings in English History 

27 th August. Arrange and conclude terms on both sides, 
whereupon the place is given up. 

29th August. The capitulation and ratifications being ex- 
changed on both sides, the English general exhibited copy of 
the king's patent, dated the twelfth of March, wherein the whole 
of New England was ceded in favor of the duke of York ; also 
a copy of the duke of York's commission to Richard Nicols as 
general, and the execution of the king's patent, dated the second 
April, 1 664. Likewise an order from the king of England, direct- 
ing the governor of New England to reduce the New Netherland 
colony under his subjection, dated 23rd April, 1664. 

30th August. And thereupon, without any other occurrence, 
was, as above stated, the place of New Amsterdam, in New 
Netherland, situate on the Manhattans, surrendered to the 
English, the garrison retiring with all their arms, flying colors, 
and beating drums ; and thereby the English, without any 
contest or claim being before put forth by any person to it, 
took possession of a fort built and continually garrisoned 
about forty years at the expense of the West India Company. 

One of the great permanent acquisitions to human 
liberty was obtained in 1679 by the .passage of the 
Habeas Corpus Act. As will be seen, it did not intro- 
duce any new principle into the law, but provided prac- 
tical means by which a prompt hearing before a judge 
could always be secured. A prisoner was in this way 
protected from arbitrary arrest and confinement. 

316. Extracts Whereas great delays have been used by sheriffs, gaolers, 

from the ^.^-^^ Other officers to whose custody any of the king's subjects 

Habeas Cor- , , • , r ■ • , ^ ■ ■ ^ 

pus Act have been committed for crimmal or supposed crmimal matters, 

in making returns of writs of habeas corptis to them directed, 
by standing out an alias and pluries habeas corpus, and some- 
times more, and by other shifts to avoid their yielding obedi- 
ence to such writs, contrary to their duty and the known laws 
of the land, whereby many of the king's subjects have been and 
hereafter may be long detained in prison, in such cases where 
by law they are bailable, to their great charges and vexation. 



Restoration and Revolution 523 

II. For the prevention whereof, and the more speeay relief Jailers must 
of all persons imprisoned for any such criminal or supposed bring prison- 

ers before the 

criminal matters, be it enacted by the king's most excellent court when 
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spir-. ordered by 
itual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament ^^ ^" 
assembled, and by the authority thereof, that whensoever any 
person or persons shall bring any habeas co7-pits directed unto 
any sheriff or sheriffs, gaoler, minister, or other person what- 
soever, for any person in his or their custody, and the said 
writ shall be served upon the said officer, or left at the gaol 
or prison with any of the under-officers, under-keepers, or 
deputy of the said officers or keepers, that the said officer or 
officers, his or their under-officers, under-keepers, or deputies, 
shall, within three days after the service thereof as aforesaid 
(unless the committment aforesaid were for treason or felony, 
plainly and specially expressed in the warrant of committment), 
. . . bring or cause to be brought the body of the party so 
committed or restrained, unto or before the lord chancellor, 
or lord keeper of the great seal of England for the time being, 
or the judges or barons of the said court from whence the 
said writ shall issue, or unto and before such other person or 
persons before whom the said writ is made returnable, accord- 
ing to the command thereof, and shall then likewise certify 
the true causes of his detainer or imprisonment. . . . 

V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
that if any officer or officers, his or their under-officer or 
under-ofhcers, under-keeper or under-keepers, or deputy, shall 
neglect or refuse to make the returns aforesaid, or to bring 
the body or bodies of the prisoner or prisoners according to 
the command of the said writ, within the respective times 
aforesaid, or, upon demand made by the prisoner or person 
in his behalf, shall refuse to deliver, or within the space of 
six hours after demand shall not deliver, to the person so de- 
manding, a true copy of the warrant or warrants of committ- 
ment and detainer of such prisoner, which he and they are 
hereby required to deliver accordingly ; all and every the 
head gaolers and keepers of such prisons, and such other per- 
son in whose custody the prisoner shall be detained, shall for 



524 Readings in English History 

the first offence forfeit to the prisoner or party grieved the 
sum of one hundred pounds ; and for the second offence the 
sum of two hundred pounds, and shall and is hereby made in- 
capable to hold or execute his said office. . . . 
Judges must X. Provided also, and be it further enacted by the authority 
grant the aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful to and for any pris- 
oner and prisoners as aforesaid, to move and obtain his or 
their habeas corpus as well out of the high court of chancery 
or court of exchequer as out of the courts of king's bench or 
common pleas, or either of them ; and if the said lord chan- 
cellor or lord keeper, or any judge or judges, baron or barons 
for the time being, of the degree of the coif, of any of the 
courts aforesaid, in the vacation time, upon view of the copy 
or copies of the warrant or warrants of committment or de- 
tainer, or upon oath made that such copy or copies were 
denied as aforesaid, shall deny any writ of habeas corpus by 
this act required to be granted, being moved for as aforesaid, 
they shall severally forfeit to the prisoner or party grieved 
the sum of five hundred pounds, to be recovered in manner 
aforesaid. 

The following extracts from Pepys' diary, from August, 
1665, to September, 1666, illustrate two of the promi- 
nent events of that year, — the last serious attack of the 
plague in London and the great fire of London. 

317. Extracts I went away and walked to Greenwich, in my way seeing 
from Pepys' ^ coffin with a dead body therein, dead of the plague, lying 
in an open close belonging to Coome farme, which was carried 
August 22, out last night, and the parish have not appointed anybody to 
1665 bury it, but only set a watch there all day and night, that 

nobody should go hither or come thence, this disease mak- 
ing us more cruel to one another than we are to dogs. . . . 
September 6 To London, to pack up more things ; and there I saw fires 
burning in the street, as it is through the whole city, by the 
lord mayor's order. Thence by water to the duke of Albe- 
marle's : all the way fires on each side of the Thames, and, 
strange to see in broad daylight, two or three burials upon the 



Restoratioii and Revolution 525 

Bankeside, one at the very heels of another ; doubtless all of 
the plague ; and yet at least forty or fifty people going along 
with every one of them. The duke mighty pleasant with me ; 
telling me that he is certainly informed that the Dutch were 
not come home upon the ist instant, and so he hopes our fleet 
may meet with them. . . . 

I walked to the Tower ; but, Lord ! how empty the streets October 16 
are and melancholy, so many poor sick people in the streets 
full of sores ; and so many sad stories overheard as I walk, 
everybody talking of this dead, and that man sick, and so many 
in this place, and so many in that. And they tell me that, in 
Westminster, there is never a physician and but one apothe- 
cary left, all being dead ; but that there are great hopes of a 
great decrease this week ; God send it ! At the Tower found 
my lord duke and duchesse at dinner ; so I sat down. And 
much good cheer, the lieutenant and his lady, and several 
officers with the duke. But, Lord ! to hear the silly talk was 
there, would make one mad ; the duke having none almost 
but fools about him. . . . 

In the street did overtake and almost run upon two women October 29 
crying and carrying a man's coffin between them. I suppose the 
husband of one of them, which, methinks, is a sad thing. . . . 

As an infinite secret, my lord tells me, the factions are high 
between the king and the duke, and all the court are in an November 16 
uproar with their loose amours, the duke of York being in 
love desperately with Mrs. Stewart. Nay, that the duchesse 
herself is fallen in love with her new Master of the Horse, one 
Harry Sidney, and another, Harry Savill. . . . 

Away to the 'Change, and there hear the ill news, to my December 13 
great and all our great trouble, that the plague is increased 
again this week, notwithstanding there hath been a long day 
or two great frosts ; but we hope it is only the effects of the 
last close, warm weather, and if the frost continue the next 
week, may fall again ; but the town do thicken so much with 
people, that it is much if the plague do not grow again upon us. 

Met with Sir James Bunch, " This is the time for you," says December 15 
he, " that were for Oliver heretofore ; you are full of employ- 
ment, and we poor Cavaliers sit still and can get nothing," 



526 



Readings in English History 



February 4 
1666 



which was a pretty reproach I thought, but answered nothing 
to it, for fear of making it worse. . . . 

Lord's day \ and my wife and I were the first time together 
at church since the plague, and now only because of Mr. Mills 
his coming home to preach his first sermon ; expecting a great 
excuse for his leaving the parish before anybody went, and 
now staying till all are come home ; but he made but a very 
poor and short excuse and a bad sermon. It was a frost, and 
had snowed last night, which covered the graves in the church- 
yard, so as I was the less afraid for going through. . . . 
February 16 To the coffee-house, the first time I have been there, where 
very full, and company it seems hath been there all the plague 
time. 



318. Pepys' 
Diary: the 
fire (Sep- 
tember 2, 
1666) 



Lord's day. Some of our maydes sitting up late last night 
to get things ready against our feast to-day, Jane called us up 
about three in the morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw 
in the city. So I rose and slipped on my night-gown, and 
went to her window, and thought it to be on the back-side of 
Market lane at the farthest ; but, being unused to such fires as 
followed, I thought it far enough off; and so went to bed again 
and to sleep. About seven rose again to dress myself, and 
there looked out at the window, and saw the fire not so much 
as it was and further off. So to my closet to set things to rights 
after yesterday's cleaning. By and by Jane comes and tells 
me that she hears that about 300 houses have been burned 
down to-night by the fire we saw, and it was now burning down 
all Fish street, by London Bridge. So I made myself ready 
presently, and walked to the Tower, and there got up upon 
one of the high places. Sir J. Robertson's little son going up 
there with me ; and there I did see the houses at that end 
of the Bridge all on fire, and an infinite great fire on this and 
the other side and end of the Bridge ; which, among other 
people, did trouble me for poor httle Michell and our Sarah 
on the Bridge. 

So down, with my heart full of trouble, to the lieutenant of 
the Tower, who tells me that it begun this morning in the 
king's baker's house in Pudding-lane, and that it hath burned 



Restoration and Revolution 527 

St. Magnus' Church and most part of Fish street aheady. 
So I went to the water-side, and there got a boat and through 
bridge, and there saw a lamentable fire. Poor Michell's house, 
as far as the old Swan, already burned that way, and the fire 
running further, that in a very little time it got as far as the 
Steele-yard, while K. was there. Everybody endeavouring to 
remove their goods, and flinging them into the river or bring- 
ing them onto hghters that lay off ; poor people staying in 
their houses as long as till the very fire touched them, and 
then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs 
by the water-side to another. And among other things, the 
poor pigeons, I perceived, were loth to leave their houses, but 
hovered about the windows and balconies till some of them 
burned their wings and fell down. 

Having staid, and in an hour's time seen the fire rage every 
way, and nobody, to my sight, endeavouring to quench it, but 
to remove their goods, and leave all to the fire, and having 
seen it get as far as the Steele-yard, and the wind mighty high 
and driving it into the city ; and everything, after so long a 
drought, proving combustible, even the very stones of churches, 
and among other things the poor steeple by which pretty Mrs. 
lives, and whereof my old schoolfellow Elborough is par- 
son, taken fire in the very top, and there burned till it fell 
down : I to White Hall (with a gentleman with me who de- 
sired to go off from the Tower, to see the fire, in my boat) ; 
to White Hall, and there up to the king's closet in the chappel, 
where people come about me, and I did give them an account 
dismayed them all, and the word was carried in to the king. 

So I was called for, and did tell the king and the duke of 
Yorke what I saw, and that unless his Majesty did command 
houses to be pulled down nothing could stop the fire. They 
seemed much troubled, and the king commanded me to go to 
my lord mayor from him, and command him to spare no 
houses, but to pull down before the fire every way. The duke 
of Yorke bid me tell him that if he would have any more sol- 
diers he shall ; and so did my Lord Arlington afterwards, as a 
great secret. Here meeting with Captain Cocke, I in his 
coach which he lent me, and Creed with me to Paul's, and 



528 Readings hi E7iglish History 

there walked along Watling street, as well as I could, every 
creature coming away loaden with goods to save, and here and 
there sicke people carried away in beds. Extraordinary good 
goods carried in carts and on backs. 

At last met my lord mayor in Canning street, like a man 
spent, with a handkercher about his neck. To the king's mes- 
sage he cried, like a fainting woman : " Lord ! what can I do? 
I am spent ; people will not obey me. I have been pulling 
down houses ; but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do 
it." That he needed no more soldiers ; and that, for himself, 
he must go and refresh himself, having been up all night. 
So he left me, and I him, and walked home, seeing people all 
almost distracted, and no manner of means used to quench 
the fire. The houses, too, so very thick thereabouts, and 
full of matter for burning, as pitch and tar, in Thames street ; 
and warehouses of oyle, and wines, and brandy, and other 
things. Here I saw Mr. Isaake Houblon, the handsome man, 
prettily dressed and dirty, at his door at Dowgate, receiving 
some of his brother's things, whose houses were on fire ; and, 
as he says, have been removed twice already ; and he doubts 
(as it soon proved) that they must be in a little time removed 
from his house also, which was a sad consideration. And to 
see the churches all filling with goods by people who them- 
selves should have been quietly there at this time. • 

By this time it was about twelve o'clock ; and so home, 
and there find my guests, which was Mr. Wood and his wife 
Barbary Sheldon, and also Mr. Moone : she mighty fine, and 
her husband, for aught I see, a likely man. But Mr. Moone's 
design and mine, which was to look over my closet and please 
him with the sight thereof, which he hath long desired, was 
wholly disappointed ; for we were in great trouble and dis- 
turbance at this fire, not knowing what to think of it. How- 
ever, we had an extraordinary good dinner, and as merry as 
at this time we could be. 

The two following extracts are taken from two pam- 
phlets written in 1672, one opposing and the other 
favoring: the new coffeehouses. 



Restoration and Revolution 529 

A coffee-house is a lay conventicle, good-fellowship turned 319. The 
Puritan, ill-husbandry in masquerade; whither people come, ^*"''"'^^'' 
after toping all day, to purchase, at the expense of their last House 
penny, the repute of sober companions ; a ruta-room, that, 
like Noah's ark, receives animals of every sort, from the pre- 
cise diminutive band to the hectoring cravat and cuffs in 
folio ; a nursery for training up the smaller fry of virtuosi in 
confident tattling, or a cabal of kittling criticks that have only 
learned to spit and mew ; a mint of intelligence, that, to make 
each man his penny-worth, draws out into petty parcels what 
the merchant receives in bullion. He that comes often saves Newspapers 
two-pence a week in gazettes, and has his news and his coffee 
for the same charge, as at a three-penny ordinary they give in 
broth to your chop of mutton ; it is an exchange where haber- 
dashers of political small-wares meet, and mutually abuse each 
other and the publick with bottomless stories and headless 
notions ; the rendezvous of idle pamphlets, and persons more 
idly employed to read them ; a high court of justice, where every 
little fellow in a camlet cloke takes upon him to transpose affairs 
both in church and state, to shew reasons against acts of par- 
liament, and condemn the decrees of general councils. . . . 

The room stinks of tobacco worse than hell of brimstone. Coffee 
and is as full of smoke as their heads that frequent it, whose 
humours are as various as those of Bedlam, and their discourses 
oftentimes as heathenish and dull as their liquor ; that liquor, 
which, by its looks and taste, you may reasonably guess to be 
Pluto's diet-drink, that witches tipple out of dead men's skulls, 
when they ratify to Beelzebub their sacramental vows. . . . 

When he comes to fill you a dish, you may take him for The landlord 
Guy Faux with a dark lanthorn in his hand, for no sooner can 
you taste it, but it scalds your throat, as if you had swallowed 
the gunpowder-treason. Though he seem never so demure, 
you cannot properly call him a Pharisee, for he never washes 
either out or inside of his pots or dishes till they be as black 
as an usurer's conscience ; and then, only scraping off the con- 
tracted soot, makes use of it, in the way of his trade, instead 
of coffee-powder ; their taste and virtue being so near of kin, 
he dares defy the veriest coffee-critic to distinguish them. 



530 



Readings in English History 



320. Coffee- 

Houses 

Vindicated 



Benefits of 

coffee 

drinking 



Though he be no great traveler, yet he is in continual motion, 
but it is only from the fire-side to the table ; and his tongue 
goes infinitely faster than his feet, his grand study being readily 
to echo an answer to that threadbare question, " What news 
have you. Master? " Then with a grave whisper, yet such as 
the room may hear it, he discovers some mysterious intrigue of 
state, told him last night by one that is a barber to the taylor 
of a mighty great courtier's man : relating this with no less 
formality than a young preacher delivers his first sermon. 

The opposite view is thus expressed. 

Though the happy Arabia, Nature's spicery, prodigally fur- 
nishes the voluptuous world with all kinds of aromaticks, and 
divers other rarities ; yet I scarce know whether mankind be 
not still as obliged to it for the excellent fruit of the humble 
cofTee-shrub as for any other of its more specious productions. 
For, since there is nothing we here enjoy, next to life, valuable 
beyond health, certainly those things that contribute to pre- 
serve us in good plight and eucracy, and fortify our weak 
bodies against the continual assaults and batteries of diseases, 
deserve our regards much more than those which only gratify 
a liquorish palate, or otherwise prove subservient to our de- 
lights. As for this salutiferous berry (of so general use through 
all the regions of the East), it is sufficiently known, when pre- 
pared, to be moderately hot, and of a very drying, attenuating, 
and cleansing quality ; whence reason infers that its decoction 
must contain many good physical properties, and cannot but 
be an incomparable remedy to dissolve crudities, comfort the 
brain, and dry up ill humours in the stomach : in brief, to pre- 
vent or redress, in those that frequently drink it, all cold, 
drowsy, rheumatic distempers whatsoever that proceed from 
excess of moisture, which are so numerous that but to name 
them would tire the tongue of a mountebank. . . . 

It is the opinion of better heads than any on their shoulders, 
that this liquor is no other than that famous black broth of 
the Lacedemonians, so much celebrated by antiquity. 

For its taste, it is a pitiful childish humour always to indulge 
our palates : diseases are removed by bitter pills, and the most 



Resto7'ation and Revolution 5 3 ^ 

sanative potions are oftentimes very ungrateful to swallow ; but 
the truth is, this drink has nothing in it of nauseousness, nor 
any taste but what, familiarised by a little use, will become 
pleasant and delightful. 

The dull planet Saturn has not finished one revolution Coffeehouses 
through his orb since coffee-houses were first known amongst |'"'th^"°^J" 
us; yet it is worth our wonder to observe how numerous fourteen years 
they are already grown, not only here in our metropolis, but 
in both universities, and most cities and eminent towns through- 
out the nation ; nor, indeed, have we any places of entertain- 
ment of more use and general conveniency, in several respects, 
amongst us. 

First, in regard of easy expense. Being to wait for or meet For economy 
a friend, a tavern-reckoning soon breeds a purse-consumption : 
in an alehouse, you must gorge yourself with pot after pot, sit 
dully alone, or be drawn into a club for others' reckonings, or 
frowned on by your landlady, as one that cumbers the house 
and hinders better guests. But here, for a penny or two, you 
may spend two or three hours, have the shelter of a house, the 
warmth of a fire, the diversion of company, and conveniency, 
if you please, of taking a pipe of tobacco ; and all this without 
any grumbling or repining. 

Secondly, for sobriety. It is grown, by the ill influences of For sobriety 
I know not what hydropick stars, almost a general custom 
amongst us, that no bargain can be drove, or business con- 
cluded between man and man, but it must be transacted at 
some publick-house. This, to persons much concerned in the 
world, must needs be very injurious, should they always run to 
taverns or ale-houses, where continual sippings, though never 
so warily, would be apt to fly up into their brains and render 
them drowsy and indisposed for business ; whereas, having now 
the opportunity of a coffee-house, they repair thither, take each 
man a dish or two (so far from causing, that it cures any dizzi- 
ness or disturbant fumes), and so, dispatching their business, 
go out more sprightly about their affairs than before. . . . 

Lastly, for diversion. It is older than Aristotle, and will be For cheer- 
true when Hobbes is forgot, that man is a sociable creature ^"'"^^^ 
and delights in company. Now, whither shall a person, wearied 



532 Readings in English History 

with hard study or the laborious turmoils of a tedious day, 
repair to refresh himself? Or where can young gentlemen, or 
shop-keepers, more innocently and advantageously spend an 
hour or two in the evening than at a cofif ee-house ? Where 
they shall be sure to meet company, and, by the custom of the 
house, not such as at other places, stingy and reserved to 
themselves, but free and communicative ; where every man 
may modestly begin his story, and propose to or answer 
another, as he thinks fit. 



III. The Death of Charles II and Accession of James II 

The following letter from the French ambassador in 
England gives a vivid account of the circumstances sur- 
rounding the death of Charles II, and of his deathbed 
reconciliation to the Catholic church. 

321. Bariiion I was five hours in the king's ante-chamber. The duke of 

to Louis XIV York made me come into the bed-chamber several times, and 

(February 

18, 1685) spoke to me of what was passing without doors, and of the 

assurances given him from every quarter that all was very 

quiet in the town, and that he should be proclaimed king the 

moment the king his brother was dead. I went out for some 

time to go to the duchess of Portsmouth's apartment. I found 

her overwhelmed with grief. . . . She said to me, " Monsieur 

the ambassador, I am going to tell you the greatest secret 

in the world, and my head would be in danger if it was 

known. The king of England at the bottom of his heart is a 

Catholic ; but he is surrounded with Protestant bishops, and 

nobody tells him his condition, or speaks to him of God : I 

cannot with decency enter the room, besides that the queen 

is almost constantly there : the duke of York thinks of his own 

affairs. . . . Go and tell him I have conjured you to warn 

him to think of what can be done to save the king's soul. 

He commands the room and can turn out whom he will. 

I returned instantly to find the duke of York . . . ajid told 

him what the duchess of Portsmouth said to me. He recovered 



Restoration and Revolution 533 

himself as from a deep lethargy, and said, " You are in the 
right, there is no time to lose. I will hazard all rather than 
not to do my duty on this occasion." . . . 

We thought of various expedients. The duke of York pro- Plans to bring 
posed that I should ask leave to speak to the king his brother, ^ p*"'^^^ *^° 

„ , • , • • r ,. • 1 , the king's 

to tell hull somethmg ni secret irom your Majesty, and that deatiibed 
everybody should go out. I offered to do so ; but represented 
to him, that besides the great rumor it would make, there was 
no likelihood of my being permitted to remain in private with 
the king of England and himself long enough for what he had 
to do. At last . . . without any further precaution, the duke 
of York stooped down to the king his brother's ear, after hav- 
ing ordered that no one should approach. I was in the room, 
and more than twenty persons at the door, which was open. 
What the duke of York said was not heard, but the king of 
England said from time to time very loud, "Yes, with all my 
heart." He sometimes made the duke of York repeat what he 
said, because he did not easily hear him. This lasted near a 
quarter of an hour. The duke of York again went out as if he 
had gone to the queen, and said to me, " The king has con- 
sented that I should bring a priest to him, but I dare not 
bring any of the duchess' ; they are too well known : send 
and iind one quickly." . . . 

The earl of Castlemethor went where the queen's priests 
were, and found amongst them one Hudelston, a Scotchman, 
who saved the king of England after the battle of Worcester, 
and who by act of parliament had been excepted from all the 
laws made against the Catholics and the priests. They put a 
wig and gown on him to disguise him, and the earl of Castle- 
methor conducted him to the door of the apartment that joined 
by a small step to the king's chamber. The duke of York . . . 
sent Chiffins to receive and bring in Mr. Hudelston. Soon 
after, he said aloud, " The king wills that everybody should 
retire, except the earls of Bath and Feversham " : the first 
was lord of the bedchamber, and the other was in waiting. 
The physicians went into a closet, the door of which was 
immediately shut, and Chiffins brought Mr. Hudelston in. 



534 



Readings in English History 



The duke of York, in presenting him, said, " Sire, here is a 
man who saved your life, and is now come to save your soul." 
The king answered, " He is welcome." He afterwards con- 
fessed himself with great sentiments of devotion and repent- 
ance. . . . He then received absolution, the communion, and 
even the extreme unction. All this lasted about three quarters 
of an hour. In the ante-chamber every one looked at another ; 
but nobody said anything but by their eyes and in whispers. 
The presence of Lord Bath and Lord Feversham, who are 
Protestants, has satisfied the bishops a little ; but the queen's 
women, and the other priests, saw so much going and coming 
that I do not think the secret can be long kept. . . . 

The following epitaph was written in joke early in 
Charles' reign by the earl of Rochester, a boon com- 
panion and minister of the king. It contains a large 
grain of truth. Charles is said to have laughed when he 
read it, but not to have been entirely pleased, and not 
to have treated Rochester so intimately afterwards. 

Here lies a great and mighty king, 

Whose promise none rely'd on ; 
He never said a foolish thing. 

Nor ever did a wise one. 

The actions of James II in the early days of his reign 

— his open favor to Roman Catholics and his disregard 
of the feelings and rights of parliament and the people 

— are shown in the following extracts from the memoirs 
of the Scotch ambassador Fountainhall. 



323. Extracts 
from Foun- 
tainhall' s 
Memoirs 
(1685) 



. . . The king, the Sunday immediately following his brother's 
death, went openly to his queen's popish chappell, and heard 
masse, and declared that when he was a subject he had that 
respect for the laws of England that he would not break them, 
but now as king, being above the executive force of the law, 
he owned his religion, — which was judged ingenuity. . . . 



Restoration and Revolution 535 

Our king hearing how the French king had receaved Church- 
hill, he payes him in his oune coin, and receives Lorge sitting 
in his chair of state in the gallery with his hat on ; which some 
French resented, tho it may be meer policy, to give out that 
there is a misunderstanding between the two kings, to please 
the English. The last king admitted embassadors without any 
pomp or ceremony, to speak him standing in his bedchamber 
with his hat off. 

The change upon the face of the English court is very 
remarkable : in the last king's tyme mirth, playes, buffoonerie, 
etc., domineered, and was incouraged ; now there is little to 
be seen but seriousnesse and businesse. ... 

On the 1 8th of April, being the vigil before Easter, the king 
washed fifty-two poor men's feet, according to the number of 
the years of his oune age, and he touches severall for the King's 
Evill. He emits a new severe proclamation against duels, and 
certifies, whoever intices another, or brings a second with him, 
he will pardon none of them, . . . The king delivered to both Harsh 
Houses his speach . . . wherein he differs much from his brother's speeches of 

^ . James to 

style, and signifies his pleasure in peremptorie termes, that it parliament 
will not be their best way to feed him from tyme to tyme with 
supplies, for that will not prevaill with him to gather them 
the oftener together ; then he acquaints them with Argile's 
rebellion in Scotland and hopes they will give him a suitable 
supply against the same. And they having on the 23rd of May 
signified to his Majesty that by ane act they would settle all 
the revenue of tonnage and poundage on his Majesty for his 
life-time . . . and that they would stand by him with their 
lives and fortunes against Argile and all other conspirators, he 
(without giving them thanks, as his brother used to doe), with 
a very dry complement, tells them, they could doe no lesse in 
consulting ther oune security. And in his speach of the 30th 
of May, he craves a farder supply ; and to flatter the genius 
of the nation, he tells them in a style vain enough, that he hopes 
to raise the reputation of England beyond what any of his 
predecessors had done. . . . 

Some ascrybed this complyance of the House of Commons 
with the king more to fear than love, and that he took the 



536 Readings in English History 

true way of treating Englishmen, in King Henry the 8th's 
minatory forme, that as he would invade no man's properties, 
so he would quit none of his oune rights and prerogatives ; 
and that he began with them as he intended to end : for the 
The English old distich holds true, Anglica gens, optima flens, pessima 
race grieves rideus; with too much prosperity they turne unsupportably in- 
are at the solent, SO that it is not safe to flatter or cajole them. For 
best, laughs sundry of this House of Commons are disaffected, but are 
^ H? \\^ r*^ borne doune by the major part, who syde with the king, the 
elections in counties and burrows being so managed that by 
the limitations of the new charters given them, and excom- 
munications and other methods used to debar such as they 
doubted, they got many of them to the king's oune mind ; 
which was a point his late brother could never of late com- 
passe, tho he had as much of his people's love as the present 
king has, only he was not so much feared by them. ... If 
the king had ane army up, it 's like he would not disband it so 
easily as his brother did his. . . . 
Increase of The English parliament met again on the 9th of November, 

the army 1 685, by his Majestie's special call : wher the king tells them 

that in this late invasion [Monmouth's] ther was a great dis- 
covery of the insufficiency of the militia to suppresse risings, 
which had moved him to double the standing forces there had 
been in his brother's tyme . . . and therfor he hoped they 
would grant him a suitable supply to defray it ; and that he 
Dispensations had made use of some to be officers in his army who were not 
for disobedi- qualified according to the laws (being popish), but to deal 
Test Act plainly with them he would nather expose nor desert them. . . . 

The following letters are concerned with the rebellion 
of the duke of Monmouth in 1685. The first two are a 
summons from Monmouth, signing himself as king, to one 
of the commanders in the field against him, and the reply 
to it ; the next is a letter of appeal for mercy by Mon- 
mouth after his defeat and capture, and the last a rather 
cold-blooded statement from King James to the prince 
of Orange, concerning the behavior of his half-brother. 



Restoratioji a)id Revolution 537 

My lord : 324- The 

Whereas we are credibly informed that there are some horse ^" ,^ 
^ Monmouth, 

and foot in arms under your command for James, duke of York, claiming to 

which are purposely raised in opposition to us and our royal ^^ king, to 
authority : we thought fit to signify to you our resentment Albemarle 
thereof, and do promise ourself that what you have transacted 
therein is through inadvertency and mistake ; and that your 
Grace will take other means, when you have received informa- 
tion of our being proclaimed king to succeed our royal father 
lately deceased. We have therefore sent this messenger on pur- 
pose to intimate the same unto you ; and it is our royal will and 
pleasure, and we do hereby strictly charge and command you, 
upon notice and receipt hereof, to cease all hostility and force 
and arms against us and all our loving subjects, and that your ' 
Grace would immediately repair to our camp where you shall 
not fail of a very kind reception by us. Or in default of the 
premises, we shall be obliged to proclaim you and all those in 
arms under your command rebels and traitors ; and shall pro- 
ceed against them and you accordingly. Yet we assure ourself 
that your Grace will pay ready obedience to our command ; 

whereof we bid you heartily farewell. 

James R. 

I received your letter and do not doubt but you would use 325. The 
me very kindly "if you had me ; and since you have given ^"J^® 
yourself the trouble of invitation, this is to let you know that the duke of 
I never was nor never will be a rebel to my lawful king, who Monmouth 
is James the Second, brother of my late dear master, King 
Charles the Second. If you think I am in the wrong, and you 
in the right, whenever we meet I do not doubt but the just- 
ness of my cause shall sufficiently convince you that you had 
better have let this rebellion alone, and not to have put the 

nation to so much trouble. 

Albemarle. 

Sir: 

I have received your Majesty's order this day that I am to 
dye to-morrow. I was in hopes, sir, by what your Majesty said 
to me yesterday, of taking care of my soul, that I should have 



538 



Readings hi English History 



326. The had some little more time; for trulj' sir, this is ve-" short. I 
duke of (Jq ]3gg Qf your Majesty, if it be possible, to let r aave one 

to King ^^y iiiore, that I may go out of the world as a Chi., lan ought. 

James II I had desired several times to speak with my ' rd Arundel 

of Wardour, which I do desire still. I hope you Majesty will 
grant it me ; and I do beg of your Majesty to let me know by 
him if there is nothing in this world that can recal your sen- 
tence, or at least reprieve me for some time. I was in hopes 
I should have lived to have served you, which I think I could 
have done to a great degree ; but your Majesty does not think 
it fit. Therefore, sir, I shall end my days with being satisfied 
that I had all the good intentions imaginable for it, and should 
have done it, being that I am your Majesty's most dutiful 

Monmouth. 

I hope your Majesty will give Doctor Tennison leave to 
come to me or any other that your Majesty will be pleased 
to grant me. 

337. King I have had yours of the 1 7th and now the duke of Mon- 

James to the j-i-^outh is brought up hither with Lord Grey and the Branden- 
pnnce of . , • , 

Orange burgher. The two first desired very earnestly to speak with me, 

(Whitehall, as having things of importance to say to me, which they did, 

Juyi4. 1 5) but {ji(j jjQ^ answer my expectation in what they said to me. 

The duke of Monmouth seemed more concerned and desirous 

to live, and did behave himself not so well as I expected, 

nor so as one ought to have expected from one who had 

taken upon him to be king. I have signed the warrant for his 

execution to-morrow. 

The old doctrine of the superiority of the king to the 
law still survived, as indicated by the following words 
written just before this time by Dr. Humphrey Gower, 
vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge. 

328. An as- We still believe and maintain that our kings derive not 

sertion of ^j^gjj. ^.j^jgg i^q^ t^g people, but from God ; that to him only 
the divine r tr ■> j 

right of they are accountable ; that it belongs not to subjects either 

kings (1681) to create or censure, but to honor and obey, their sovereign, 



Restoration and Revolution 539 

who comes to be so by a fundamental hereditary right of suc- 
cession, V ~;h no religion, no law, no fault or forfeiture, can 
alter or d. nish. 

iV. The Revolution 

James II held much the same views as those given 
by Dr. Gower. Relying on these powers, angered by 
the opposition to his efforts to give to his fellow-Cath- 
olics a better position in England, and impressed with 
a belief in freedom of worship, he issued in 1687 the 
following even more complete declaration of indulgence 
than that of Charles II. This declaration was repeated 
in i( 



It having pleased Almighty God not only to bring us to the 329. James' 

imperial crown of these kingdoms through the greatest difh- l^eclamtion 

, . , , , 1 ■ -1 of Indulgence 

culties, but to preserve us by a more than ordmary providence (April 4, 

upon the throne of our royal ancestors, there is nothing now 1687) 

that we so earnestly desire as to establish our government on 

such a foundation as may make our subjects happy, and unite 

them to us by inclination as well as duty. We think this can 

be done by no means so eifectually as by granting to them 

the free exercise of their religion for the time to come, and 

adding that to the perfect enjoyment of their property, which 

has never been in any case invaded by us since our coming to 

the crown. These being the two things men value most, shall 

ever be preserved in these kingdoms, during our reign over 

them, as the truest methods of their peace and our glory. 

We cannot but heartily wish, as it will easily be believed, Freedom of 

that all the people of our dominions were members of the conscience m 

^ ^ ^ ■, ■ • matters of 

Catholic church ; yet we humbly thank Almighty God, it is religion 
and has of long time been our constant sense and opinion 
(which upon divers occasions we have declared) that the con- 
science ought not to be constrained nor people forced in matters 
of mere religion. It has ever been directly contrary to our 
inclination, as we think it is to the interest of the government, 
which it destroys by spoiling trade, depopulating countries, and 



540 



Readings in English Hisiui y 



The agree- 
ment of 
parliament 
anticipated 



Suspension 
of all laws 
against free- 
dom of 
worship 



discouraging strangers, and finally, that it never obtained the 
end for which it was employed. And in this we are the more 
confirmed by the reflections we have made upon tlie conduct 
of the four last reigns. For after all the frequent and pi'..'ssing 
endeavors that were used in each of them to reduce thi king- 
dom to an exact conformity in religion, it is visible that the 
success has not answered the design, and that the difficulty is 
invincible. 

We therefore, out of our princely care and affection unto all 
our loving subjects, that they may live at ease and quiet, and 
for the increase of trade and encouragement of strangers, have 
thought fit by virtue of our royal prerogative to issue forth 
this our declaration of indulgence, making no doubt of the 
concurrence of our two houses of parliament when we shall 
think it convenient for them to meet. 

In the first place, we do declare that we will protect and 
maintain our archbishops, bishops, and clergy, and all other 
our subjects of the Church of England in the free exercise of 
their religion as by law established, and in the quiet and full 
enjoyment of all their possessions, without any molestation or 
disturbance whatsoever. 

We do likewise declare that it is our royal will and pleasure 
that from henceforth the execution of all and all manner of 
penal laws in matters ecclesiastical, for not coming to church, 
or not receiving the sacraments, or for any other noncon- 
formity to the religion established, or for or by reason of the 
exercise of religion in any manner whatsoever, be immediately 
suspended ; and the further execution of the said penal laws 
and every of them is hereby suspended. . . . 

And forasmuch as we are desirous to have the benefit of the 
service of all our loving subjects, which by the law of nature is 
inseparably annexed to and inherent in our royal person, and 
that none of our subjects may for the future be under any dis- 
couragement or disability (who are otherwise well inclined and 
fit to serve us) by reason of some oaths or tests that have been 
usually administered on such occasions, we do hereby further 
declare, that it is our royal will and pleasure that the oaths 
commonly called the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, and 



Rest07-atio7i and Revolution 54 ^ 

also the several tests and declarations mentioned in the acts of 
parliament made in the five-and-twentieth and thirtieth years 
of the reign of our late royal brother, King Charles II, shall 
not at any time hereafter be required to be taken, declared, or 
subscribed by any person or persons whatsoever, who is or shall 
be employed in any office or place of trust, either civil or mil- 
itary, or subscribed by any person or persons whatsoever, who 
is or shall be employed in any office or place of trust, either 
civil or military, under us or in our government. 

And we do hereby further declare it to be our pleasure and Dispensa- 
intention, from time to time hereafter, to grant our royal dis- ||j°"q^\'^^"'^„ 
pensations under our great seal to all our loving subjects so to be granted 
be employed, who shall not take the said oaths, or subscribe 
or declare the said tests or declarations in the above-mentioned 
acts and every of them. 

If the declaration of April, 1688, had simply been pro- 
mulgated in the usual way, it would not have attracted 
so much attention, but the order of the king that it 
should be read in all the churches after sermon on two 
Sundays in May and June roused intense opposition, 
one form of which was the following respectful but 
firm petition from the archbishop of Canterbury and the 
bishops of St. Asaphs, Ely, Chichester, Bath and Wells, 
Peterborough, and Bristol. 

The humble petition of William, archbishop of Canterbury, 330. Petition 

of the s( 
bishops 



and divers of the suffragan bishops *f that province, (now °^ *^® s^^®° 



present with him), in behalf of themselves and others of 
their absent brethren, and of the clergy of their respec- 
tive dioceses. 

Humbly sheweth. That the great averseness they find in them- 
selves to the distributing and publishing in all their churches 
your Majesty's late declaration for liberty of conscience pro- 
ceeds neither from any want of duty and obedience to your 
Majesty, (our holy mother the Church of England, being both 
in her principles and in her constant, practice unquestionably 



542 Rcaduigs in Efiglish History 

loyal ; and having, to her great honour, been more than once 
publickly acknowledg'd to be so by your gracious Majesty), 
nor yet from any want of due tenderness to Dissenters, in rela- 
tion to whom they are willing to come to such a temper as shall 
be thought fit, when that matter shall be considered and settled 
in parliament and convocation. But, among many other con- 
siderations, from this especially, because that declaration is 
founded upon such a dispensing power as has been often de- 
clared illegal in parliament, and particularly in the years 1662 
and 1672, and in the beginning of your Majesty's reign; and 
is a matter of so great moment and consequence to the whole 
nation, both in church and state, that your petitioners cannot 
in prudence, honour, or conscience so far make themselves 
parties to it, as the distribution of it all over the nation, and 
the solemn publication of it once and again, even in God's 
house and in the time of his divine service, must amount to 
in common and reasonable construction. 

Your petitioners therefore most humbly and earnestly beseech 
your Majesty, that you will be graciously pleased, not to 
insist upon their distributing and reading your Majesty's 
said declaration. 
And your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray. 

Will. Cant. Th. Bathon. & Wellen. 

Will. Asaph Th. Peterburgen. 

Fr. Ely Jonath. Bristol 

Jo. CiCESTR. 

The circumstances of the invasion of England by 
William of Orange are told by Bishop Burnet, who v^as 
on the expedition and had a good opportunity to know 
of the messages that came from England and of the 
difficulties that had to be overcome in bringing in a 
foreign army without raising the national antagonism. 

The prince desired me to go along with him as his chaplain, 
to which I very readily agreed ; for, being fully satisfied in 
my conscience that the undertaking was lawful and just, and 



Restoration and Revolution 543 

having had a considerable hand in advising the whole progress 331- The 

of it, I thought it would have been an unbecoming fear in me i°7f,^*°° °: 
° ' ° William of 

to have taken care of my own person, when the prince was ven- Orange 

turing his, and the whole was now to be put to hazard. . . . 

As Sidney brought over letters from the persons formerly English plan 

mentioned, both inviting the prince to come over to save and ^°'" '^^'ii'am's 

1 ■ e • ^ •!•, , coming to 

rescue the nation from rum, and assurmg hmi that they wrote England 
that which was the universal sense of all the wise and good 
men in the nation ; so they also sent over with him a scheme 
of advices. They advised his having a great fleet but a small 
army : they thought it should not exceed six or seven thousand 
men. They apprehended that an ill use might be made of it, 
if he brought over too great an army of foreigners, to infuse 
in people a jealousy that he designed a conquest : they advised 
his landing in the north, either in Burlington Bay or a little 
below Hull : Yorkshire abounded in horse ; and the gentry 
were generally well affected, even to zeal, for the design : the 
country was plentiful, and the roads were good till within fifty 
miles of London. ... 

When these things were laid before the prince, he said he 
could by no means resolve to come over with so small a force ; 
he could not believe what they suggested concerning the king's 
army's being disposed to come over to him ; nor did he reckon, 
so much as they did on the people of the country's coming 
in to him. He said he could trust to neither of these : he 
could not undertake so great a design, the miscarriage of 
which would be the ruin both of England and Holland, with- 
out such a force as he had reason to believe would be supe- 
rior to the king's own, though his whole army should stick to 
him. . . . 

When these advices were proposed to Herbert and the'other The plan to 
seamen, they opposed the landing in the north vehemently. '^""^ '" °"^ 

• 1 , , , , T . , rr., ^ of the Chan- 

They said, no seamen had been consulted in that. The north nel ports 
coast was not fit for a fleet to ride in, in an east wind, which 
it was to be expected in winter might blow so fresh that it 
would not be possible to preserve the fleet ; and if the fleet 
were left there, the Channel was open for such forces as 
might be sent from France. The Channel was the safer sea 



544 Readings in English History 

for the fleet to ride in, as well as to cut off the assistance from 
France. . . . 

In the beginning of October the troops marched from Nime- 
guen and were put on board in the Zuyder Sea, where they lay 
above ten days before they could get out of the Texel. Never 
was so great a design executed in so short a time. A transport 
fleet of five hundred vessels was hired in three days' time. 
All things, as soon as they were ordered, were got to be so 
quickly ready that we were amazed at the dispatch. It is 
true, some things were wanting, and some things had been 
forgot. But when the greatness of the equipage was consid- 
ered, together with the secrecy with which it was to be con- 
ducted till the whole design was to be avowed, it seemed 
much more strange that so little was wanting, or that so few 
things had been forgot. . . . 

On the first of November we sailed out with the evening 
tide, but made little way that night, that so our fleet might 
come out and move in order. We tried next day till noon, if 
it was possible to sail northward, but the wind was so strong 
and full in the east that we could not move that way. About 
noon the signal was given to steer westward. This wind not 
only diverted us from that unhappy course, but it kept the 
English fleet in the river, so that it was not possible for them 
to come out, though they were come down as far as to the 
Gunfleet. By this means we had the sea open to us, with a fair 
wind and a safe navigation. On the third we passed between 
Dover and Calais, and before night came in sight of the Isle 
of Wight. . . . 
Landing at And a soft and happy gale of wind carried in the whole fleet 
Torbay in jj^ Jq^j. ^Qurs' time into Torbay. Immediately as many landed 
as conveniently could. As soon as the prince and Marshal 
Schomberg got to shore they were furnished with such horses 
as the village of Broxholme could afford ; and rode up to view 
the grounds, which they found as convenient as could be im- 
agined for the foot in that season. It was not a cold night, 
otherwise the soldiers, who had been kept warm aboard, might 
have suffered much by it. As soon as I landed I made what 
haste I could to the place where the prince was, who took 



Restoration and Revolution 545 

me heartily by the hand and asked me if I would not now 
believe predestination. I told him I would never forget that 
providence of God, which had appeared so signally on this 
occasion. He was cheerfuUer than ordinary, yet he returned 
soon to his usual gravity. 

A careful study of the foUouring extracts from the 
Bill of Rights of 1689 will do much to explain the 
Revolution of 1688. 

Whereas the said late King James II having abdicated the 332. Extracts 
government, and the throne being thereby vacant, his High- from the Bill 
ness the prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased Almighty 
God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this king- 
dom from popery and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of 
the lords spiritual and temporal, and diverse principal persons 
of the Commons) cause letters to be written to the lords spiritual 
and temporal, being Protestants, and other letters to the several 
counties, cities, universities, boroughs, and Cinque Ports, for 
the choosing of such persons to represent them, as were of 
right to be sent to parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster 
upon the two-and-twentieth day of January, in this year 1689, 
in order to such an establishment as that their religion, laws, 
and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted ; 
upon which letters elections have been accordingly made. 

And thereupon the said lords spiritual and temporal and 
Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, 
being now assembled in a full and free representation of this 
nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best 
means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as 
their ancestors in like case have usually done), for the vindi- 
cating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties, declare : 

1. That the pretended power of suspending laws, or the 
execution of laws, by regal authority, without consent of parlia- 
ment, is illegal. 

2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the 
execution of laws, by regal authority, as it hath been assumed 
and exercised of late, is illegal. 



546 Readings in English History 

3. That the commission for erecting the late court c>' ■ v.i'!- 
missioners for ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissinns 
and courts of like nature, are illegal and pernicious. 

4. That levying money for or to the use of the crown by 
pretense of prerogative, without grant of parliament, for longer 
time or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, 
is illegal. 

5. That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, 
and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning 
are illegal. 

6. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the 
kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of parlia- 
ment, is against law. 

7. That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for 
their defense suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law. 

8. That election of members of parliament ought to be free. 

9. That the freedom of speech, and debates or proceedings 
in parliament, ought not to be impeached or questioned in 
any court or place out of parliament. 

10. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

11. That jurors ought to be duly impaneled and returned, 
and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought 
to be freeholders. 

12. That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of 
particular persons before conviction are illegal and void. 

13. And that for redress of all grievances,'and for the amend- 
ing, strengthening, and preserving of the laws, parliament 
ought to be held frequently. 

And they do claim, demand, and insist upon all and singular 
the premises, as their undoubted rights and liberties ; and that 
no declarations, judgments, doings, or proceedings, to the preju- 
dice of the people in any of the said premises, ought in any wise 
to be drawn hereafter into consequence or example. 

To which demand of their rights they are particularly en- 
couraged by the declaration of his Highness the prince of 
Orange, as being the only means for obtaining a full redress 
and remedy therein. 



Restoration and Revolution 547 

Having therefore an entire confidence that his said High- 
ness the prince of Orange will perfect the deliverance so far 
advanced by him, and will still preserve them from the viola- 
tion of their rights, which they have here asserted, and from all 
other attempts upon their religion, rights, and liberties : 

The said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, as- William and 
sembled at Westminster, do resolve that William and Mary, '^"^,*^^', 
prince and princess of Orange, be, and be declared king and j^j^ ^^^ 
queen of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions queen 
thereunto belonging, to hold the crown and royal dignity of 
the said kingdoms and dominions to them the said prince and 
princess during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them ; 
and that the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only 
in, and executed by, the said prince of Orange, in the names 
of the said prince and princess, during their joint lives; and 
after their deceases, the said crown and royal dignity of the 
said kingdoms and dominions to be to the heirs of the body of 
the said princess ; and for default of such issue to the princess 
Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body ; and for default 
of such issue to the heirs of the body of the said prince of 
Orange. And the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, 
do pray the said prince and princess to accept the same 
accordingly. . . . 

Upon which their said Majesties did accept the crown and 
royal dignity of the kingdoms of England, France, and Ire- 
land, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to 
the resolution and desire of the said lords and commons con- 
tained in the said declaration. 

Religious freedom, of a partial nature, it is true, and 
yet sufficient to give great comfort to all Protestants 
who were not adherents of the established church, was 
now, as one of the results of the Revolution, granted by- 
act of parliament. Thus the same liberty was obtained 
by legal methods as Charles II and James II had tried 
to introduce by the use of their prerogative. Parliament 
did not intend to grant the same freedom to Roman 



548 Readings in English History 

Catholics as it had to Protestant Dissenters, and indeed 
a more severe act was passed by the two houses of par- 
Hament against them. But this was vetoed by the king, 
and as a matter of fact Catholics were allowed always 
afterward to hold their own services without disturbance. 
The following passages are from Burnet. 



333- The 

adoption of 
the Tolera- 
tion Act 
(1689) 



The bill of toleration passed easily. It excused Dissenters 
from all penalties for their not coming to church, and for 
going to their separate meetings. There was an exception of 
Socinians ; but a provision was put in in favor of Quakers ; 
and though the rest were required to take the oaths to the 
government, they were excused, upon making in lieu thereof 
a solemn declaration. They were to take out warrants for the 
houses they met in, and the justices of peace were required 
to grant them. Some proposed that the act should only be 
temporary, as a necessary restraint upon the Dissenters, that 
they might demean themselves so as to merit the continuance 
of it when the term of years now offered should end. But 
this was rejected : there was now an universal inclination to 
pass the act, but it could not be expected that the nation 
would be in the same good disposition towards them at another 
time. . . . 

The clergy began now to show an implacable hatred to the 
of the clergy jsjon-conformists, and seemed to wish for an occasion to renew 
old severities against them. But wise and good men did very 
much applaud the quieting the nation by the toleration. It 
seemed to be suitable, both to the spirit of the Christian reli- 
gion and to the interest of the nation. It was thought very 
unreasonable that while we were complaining of the cruelty 
of the church of Rome, we should fall into such practices 
among ourselves ; chiefly while we were engaging in a war 
in the progress of which we would need the united strength 
of the whole nation. 

This bill gave the king great content. He in his o\mi opinion 
always thought that conscience was God's province, and that 
it ought not to be imposed on ; and his experience in Holland 



Intolerance 



Restoration and Revolution 549 

made him look on toleration as one of the wisest measures of Liberal prin- 
eovernment. He was much troubled to see so much ill humor ^^v"^^^ of King 

T 11 111- William, 

spreading among the clergy, and, by their means, over a great favoring even 

part of the nation. He was so true to his principles herein, the Catholics 

that he restrained the heat of some, who were proposing severe 

acts against Papists. He made them apprehend the advantage 

which they would give the French, to alienate all the Papists 

of Europe from us ; who from thence might hope to set on 

foot a new Catholic League, and make the war a quarrel of 

religion ; which might have very bad effects. Nor could he 

pretend to protect the Protestants in many places of Germany 

and in Hungary, unless he could cover the Papists in England 

from all severities on the account of their religion. This was 

so carefully infused into many, and so well understood by 

them, that the Papists have enjoyed the real effects of the 

toleration, though they were not comprehended within the 

statute that enacted it. . . . 

By the sixth clause of the Bill of Rights parliament 
had asserted its right to the control of the army in time 
of peace. In the first Mutiny Act, which has been the 
general type for the acts which have been passed yearly 
since, parliament laid down the conditions which were 
to control the army by the grant for six months at a 
time of a right to try soldiers by court-martial. It has 
thus kept the army under its own control ever since. 



Whereas the raising or keeping a standing army within this 334. Extracts 

from tl 
Mutin'' 
(1689)' 



kmgdom \\\ tniie of peace, unless it be with consent of parlia- ^^^^ ^^ 

^ . . , ^ ' , • ■ • •> J , Mutiny Act 

ment, is against law ; and whereas it is judged necessary by 



their Majesties and this present parliament that during this 
time of danger several of the forces which are now on foot 
should be continued, and others raised, for the safety of the 
kingdom, for the common defense of the Protestant religion, 
and for the reducing of Ireland. 

And whereas no man may be forejudged of life or limb, or 
subjected to any kind of punishment, by martial law or in any 



550 



Readings in English History 



\ 



other manner than by the judgment of his peers and accord- 
ing to the known and established laws of this realm, yet never- 
theless it being requisite for retaining such forces as are or 
shall be raised during this exigence of affairs in their duty, 
an exact discipline be observed, and that soldiers who shall 
mutiny or stir up sedition or shall desert their majesties' serv- 
ice be brought to more exemplary and speedy punishment than 
the usual forms of law will allow. . . . 

II. Be it therefore enacted by the king's and queen's most 
excellent majesties, by and with the advice and consent of the 
lords spiritual and temporal and commons in this parliament 
assembled, and by authority of the same, that, from and after 
the twelfth of April in the year of our Lord one thousand six 
hundred eighty-nine, every person being in their majesties' 
service in the army and being mustered and in pay as an 
officer or soldier, who shall at any time before the tenth day 
of November in the year of our Lord one thousand six hun- 
dred eighty-nine excite, cause, or join in any mutiny or sedi- 
tion in the army, or shall desert their majesties' service in the 
army, shall suffer death or such other punishment as by a court 
marshal shall be inflicted. . . . 

VII. Provided always, that this act or anything therein 
contained shall not extend or be anywise construed to extend 
to or concern any the militia forces of this kingdom. 

VIII. Provided always, that this act shall continue and 
be in force until the said tenth of November in the said year 
of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-nine, and no 
longer. . . . 

X. And no sentence of death shall be given against any 
offender in such case by any court unless nine of thirteen 
officers present shall concur therein, and if there be a greater 
number of officers present, then the judgment shall pass by 
the concurrence of the greater part of them so sworn, and not 
otherwise, and no proceedings, trial, or sentence of death 
shall be had or given against any offender but between the 
hours of eight in the morning and one in the afternoon. 



CHAPTER XVII 

FOUNDATION OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, 1 689-1 763 

I. The Reign of William and Mary 

One more extract from Burnet's History of His Own 
Time may be taken to illustrate the struggle made by 
James II to regain his throne, through help given to 
him by his French allies and his Irish subjects. 

Upon King James' landing in Ireland he marched his army 335. King 

from Kinsale to Ulster. And when it was all together it con- J^™^^' inva- 

. . sion of 

sisted of 30,000 foot and 8000 horse. It is true, the Irish were Ireland 

now as insolent as they were undisciplined ; and they began 

to think that they must be masters of all the king's counsels. 

A jealousy arose between them and the French : they were 

soon on very bad terms, and scarce ever agreed in their 

advices. All King James' party, in the isle of Britain, pressed 

his settling the affairs of Ireland the best he could, and his 

bringing over the French and such of the Irish as he could 

best govern and depend on ; and advised him to land in the 

north of England, or in the west of Scotland. ... 

All this while an army was preparing in England, to be sent An English 

over for the reduction of Ireland, commanded by Schomberg, army pre- 

who was made a duke in England, and to whom the parlia- Ireland 

ment gave ^100,000 for the services he had done. The levies 

were carried on in England with great zeal, and the bodies 

were quickly full. But though both officers and soldiers showed 

much courage and affection to the service, yet they were raw, 

without experience, and without skill. Schomberg had a quick 

and happy passage, with about 10,000 men. He landed at 

Belfast, and brought the forces that lay in Ulster together. 

His army, when strongest, was not above 14,000 men; and 

he had not above 2000 horse. He marched on to Dundalk, 

551 



552 



Readings in English History 



and there posted himself. King James came to Ardee, within 
five or six miles of him, being above thrice his number. Schom- 
berg had not the supplies from England that had been promised 
him ; much treachery or ravenousness appeared in many who 
were employed ; and he, finding his numbers so unequal to 
the Irish, resolved to lie on the defensive. 

He lay there six weeks in a very rainy season. His men, for 
want of due care and good management, contracted such dis- 
eases that he lost almost the one half of his army. 

[The danger in Ireland appeared so great that William him- 
self determined to go over with reenforcements.] He had a 
quick passage to Ireland, where matters had been kept in the 
state where they were in all this winter. Charlemont was re- 
duced, which was the only place in Ulster that was then left 
in King James' hands. The king had a great army ; there 
were about 36,000 men, all in good plight, full of heart and 
zeal ; he lost no time, but advanced in six days from Belfast, 
where he landed, to the river of Boyne, near Drogheda. King 
James had abandoned the passes between Newry and Dundalk, 
which are so strait for some miles that it had been easy to have 
disputed every inch of ground ; King James and his court were 
so much lifted up with the news of the debates in parliament, 
and of the distractions of the city of London, that they flattered 
themselves with false hopes that the king durst not leave Eng- 
land, nor venture over to Ireland : he had been six days come 
before King James knew anything of it. Upon that he imme- 
diately passed the Boyne, and lay on the south side of it. His 
army consisted of 26,000 men, his horse were good, and he 
had 5000 French foot, for whom he had sent over, in exchange, 
5000 Irish foot. . . . 

The king sent a great body of cavalry to pass the river 
higher, while he resolved to pass it in the face of the enemy; 
and the duke of Schomberg was to pass it in a third place, a 
little below him. I will not enter into the particulars of that 
day's action, but leave that to military men. 

It was a complete victory ; and those who were the least 
disposed to flattery said it was almost wholly due to the king's 
courage and conduct. And though he was a little stiff by reason 



Foiindatio7i of the British Empire 553 

of his wound, yet he was forced to quit his horse in the morass, 
and to go through it on foot. But he came up in time to ride 
almost into every body of his army ; he charged in many dif- 
ferent places ; and nothing stood before him. The Irish horse 
made some resistance, but the foot threw down their arms and 
ran away. The most amazing circumstance was that King James 
stayed all the while with his guards, at a safe distance, and never 
came into the places of danger or of action. But when he saw 
his army was everywhere giving ground, he was the first that 
ran for it, and reached Dublin before the action was quite 
over ; for it was dark before the king forsook the pursuit of 
the Irish, ... 

King James came to Dublin under a very indecent con- King James 
sternation ; he said all was lost ; he had an army in England P'^pares to 

111 1-11 11 1111 return to 

that eould have fought, but would not ; and now he had an France 
army that would have fought, but could not. This was not very 
gratefully or decently spoken by him, who was among the first 
that fled. Next morning he left Dublin ; he said too much 
blood had been already shed : it seemed God was with their 
enemies ; the prince of Orange was a merciful man ; so he 
ordered those he left behind him to set the prisoners at liberty 
and to submit to the prince. He rode that day from Dublin 
to Duncannon fort ; but though the place was considerably 
strong, he would not trust to that, but lay aboard a Frencli 
ship that anchored there, and had been provided by his own 
special directions to Sir Patrick Trant. His courage sunk with 
his affairs, to a degree that amazed those who had known the 
former parts of his life. The Irish army was forsaken by its 
officers for two days : if there had been a hot pursuit, it would 
have put an end to the war of Ireland ; but the king thought 
his first care ought to be to secure Dublin : and King James' 
officers, as they abandoned it, went back to the army, only in 
hopes of a good capitulation. 

The massacre of Glencoe has been the subject of much 
dispute. The following is a contemporary account, pub- 
lished as a pamphlet, in the form of a letter to a friend 
from one who knew all the circumstances. There is no 



554 



Readings in English History 



336. Orders 
for the mas- 
sacre of Mac 
Ian Mac- 
donald of 
Glencoe and 
his clan 
(February 
12, 1692) 



The massacre 



reason to doubt its truth. It opens with the orders re- 
ceived by Captain Campbell from his military superior 
in the name of the Scottish commissioner who had his 
authority from King WiUiam. 

Sir: 

You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the 
MacDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under 70. 
You are to have especial care that the old fox and his sons do 
upon no account escape your hands ; you are to secure all the 
avenues, that no man escape : this you are to put in execution 
at five a clock in the morning precisely, and by that time, or 
very shortly after it, I '11 strive to be at you with a stronger 
party; if I do not come to you at five, you are not to tarry 
me, but to fall on. This is by the king's special command, for 
the good and safety of the country, that these miscreants may 
be cut off, root and branch. See that this be put in execu- 
tion without feud or favour, else you may expect to be treated 
as not true to the king or government, nor a man fit to carry 
commission in the king's service. Expecting you will not fail 
in the fulfilling hereof, as you love yourself. I subscribe these 

with my hand, ^ 

Robert Duncanson. 

For their majesties' service, to Capt. Robert Campbell of 
Glenlyon. 

. . . The soldiers being disposed five or three in a house, 
according to the number of the family they were to assassi- 
nate, had their orders given them secretly. They had been 
received as friends by those poor people, who intended no 
evil themselves, and little suspected that their guests were 
design'd to be their murtherers. At 5 o'clock in the morning 
they began their bloody work, surpris'd and butcher'd 38 per- 
sons, who had kindly received them under their roofs. Mac Ian 
himself was murther'd, and is much bemoan'd ; he was a stately, 
well-favoured man, and of good courage and sense : as also the 
Laird Archintrikin, a gentleman of more than ordinary judg- 
ment and understanding, who had submitted to the government, 



Foimdation of the British Empire 555 

and had Coll.. Hill's protection in his pocket, which he had got 
three months before. 

I cannot without horror represent how a boy about eight 
years of age was murthered ; he seeing what was done to others 
in the house with him, in a terrible fright ran out of the house, 
and espying Capt. Campbell, grasp'd him about the legs, cry- 
ing for mercy, and offering to be his servant all his life. I am 
informed Capt. Campbell inclined to spare him ; but one 
Drummond, an officer, barbarously run his dagger through 
him, whereof he died immediately. The rehearsal of several 
particulars and circumstances of this tragical story makes it 
appear most doleful; as that Mac Ian was killed as he was 
drawing on his breeches, standing before his bed, giving orders 
to his servants for the good entertainment of those who mur- 
dered him. While he was speaking the words, he was shot 
through the head, and fell dead in his lady's arms, who, 
through the grief of this and other bad usages she met with, 
died the next day. It is not to be omitted that most of those 
poor people were killed when they were asleep, and none was 
allowed to pray to God for mercy. 

Providence ordered it so, that that night was most boisterous ; 
so as a party of 400 men, who should have come to the other 
end of the glen, and begun the like work there at the same 
hour, (intending that the poor inhabitants should be enclosed, 
and none of them escape,) could not march at length, until it 
was 9 o'clock, and this afforded to many an opportunity of 
escaping, and none were killed but those in whose houses 
Campbell and Glenlyon's men were quartered, otherwise all 
the males under 70 years of age, to the number of 200, had 
been cut off, for that was the order. 

Some light is throw^n on the condition of England after 
William had been on the throne for ten years by the fol- 
lowing correspondence between Count Tallard, the French 
ambassador there, and his master, the French king. 

The king of England is very far from being master here ; 
he is generally hated by all the great men and the whole of 



556 



Readings in English History 



the nobility : I could not venture to say despised, for in truth 
that word cannot be applied to him, but it is the feeling which 
all those whom I have just mentioned entertain towards him. 
It is not the same with the people, who are very favorably 
inclined towards him, yet less so than at the beginning. The 
friendship which this prince shows to the Dutch, the intimacy 
in which he lives with them and with foreigners, the immense 
benefits which he confers on them, and the declared favor of 
the earl of Albemarle, who is a very young man, have produced 
the effect which I have mentioned. 

The nation is divided into two parties, under whose name 
all the others have rallied : one is called the Whigs, and the 
other the Tories. The first is composed of Presbyterians and 
of those who are opposed to arbitrary power and the royal 
authority. It is they who have placed the crown on the head 
of the present king. The second is composed of Episco- 
palians, of those who are in favor of monarchy, and who con- 
sider the king at present on the throne as king only de facto, 
and not king de jure. These two parties divide all England 
between them. The king has of late passed several times from 
one party to the other, according to his wants, and has always 
abandoned, in order to succeed in his object, those who were 
in office, and w^ho were opposed to the prevailing party. 
Hence arises the difficulty he has in finding persons whom 
he can place in office; nobody desires it, and in this respect 
everything is in perpetual motion. 

Nothing can equal the prodigality and disorder in the 
finances of England during the whole of the late war. Every- 
thing was done without regularity or system, and without 
economy ; and I confess that nothing has given me so much 
surprise as the details which have come to my knowledge on 
this subject. 

No Englishman has any real share in public affairs except 
the lord chancellor, a man of about thirty-seven or thirty-eight 
years of age, whom the king has placed in that office, — much 
attached to that prince, very honest, and much esteemed by 
all parties. He is, however, employed solely on the home 
affairs of the kingdom. The secretaries of state attend to 



bites 



Foundation of the BritisJi Empire 557 

nothing whatever, except the affairs of the provinces. All the 
rest passes through the hands either of the king himself, who 
writes a great deal, or of the earl of Albemarle. I am persuaded 
that when the earl of Portland returns he will find a place, 
though in this country he is looked upon as ruined. The king 
is accused of being idle, at least of not being so laborious as he 
should be. He dines or sups three times a week with the earl 
of Albemarle, and a short time before setting out for New- 
market he one day sat five hours at table. 

King James has still friends in this country ; and it is cer- The jaco- 
tain that if the expedition from La Hogue had succeeded, the 
greater part of England would have declared in his favor ; 
and it is true that the present king has no solid foundation for 
the strengthening of his power in this country, except his 
army, of which he is the master, and the vicinity of the Dutch, 
who are also at his disposal. He has given the whole weight 
of parliament to the House of Commons ; the House of Lords 
has no credit whatever. 

Nothing is so different from the manners of former times as 
the present style of living among the noblemen. They have 
no intercourse, one with another, after they quit the House. 
Most of them go to dine at some tavern, and afterwards they 
repair to places called coffeehouses, where everybody goes 
without distinction : of these there is an infinite number in 
London, and there they remain till they return home. 

The following letter from the king of France to his 
ambassador in England explains one of those schemes 
for dividing up the territory of the childless king of Spain, 
which led to the signature of the " partition treaties," and 
finally to the War of the Spanish Succession. The most 
remarkable thing about these arrangements is that the 
people of the various countries and their wishes were 
neither consulted nor considered in the negotiations be- 
tween ambassadors and sovereigns. The nations were 
treated as if they existed for the monarchs, not the 
monarchs for the peoples. 



558 Readmgs in EnglisJi History 

The letter which you wrote me on the 2 2d of this month 

informs me of what passed at the private audience which you 
lard (Ver- 
saiiies May ^^^ ^^'^^^ ^^ ^^^^§ °^ England, ... To reconcile my sentiments 

29, 1698) and his, I have made a new project. 1 have always followed 
the same principle of forming two alternatives, my only view 
being to propose what appears to me to be the best calculated 
to preserve the peace of Europe, and, at the same time, to 
indemnify, as far as possible, the legitimate heirs for the just 
claims which they sacrifice to this sole consideration. I even 
leave to the king of England the choice of these alternatives. 
He will decide in favor of that which he shall believe to be 
most conformable to the interests of the English and the Dutch, 
and, consequently, that which will most promote the conclu- 
sion of the treaty. 

By the first of these alternatives one of my grandsons would 
have Spain, the Indies, the islands, countries, and places which 
belong at present to that monarchy, with the exception of 
the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and Milan, which the 
archduke would have for his share, on condition that they 
should never be united to the imperial crown ; the Low 
Countries, in the state in which they now are, would be ceded 
to the electoral prince of Bavaria. Though England and Hol- 
land cannot pretend to have any claim to share in this parti- 
tion, I would nevertheless consent, out of regard to the king 
of England, to leave to those two nations, by this first alter- 
native, Ceuta and Oran, for the security of their commerce. 

Lastly, whatever reasons there may be for preserving to the 
cro\vn of Spain all that it now possesses in the Indies, with- 
out detaching from it the smallest portion, you may add to 
this alternative that I would- consent that the Dutch should 
become masters of that part of the island of St. Domingo 
which belongs to Spain. Jamaica, which the English already 
possess, added to this part of the island of St. Domingo, would 
give them a very considerable establishment in the West 
Indies, would secure their commerce, and other nations would 
not so much fear to see theirs interrupted as they would do if 
the port of the Havannah were in the hands of the English 
and the Dutch. . . . 



Fotindation of the British Empire 559 

With respect to the second alternative, you have already Second plan 
shown to the king of England that the kingdoms of Naples °^ division 
and Sicily, with the places on the coast of Tuscany, were too 
unequal a portion to indemnify my son for his legitimate right 
to the whole Spanish succession. I consider the cession of 
these kingdoms as a continued source of expense and embar- 
rassment ; it cost France but too dear to preserve them, and 
experience proves the indispensable necessity of always main- 
taining troops there, of continually sending men-of-war, and, 
also, how vain all these efforts proved. I therefore do not 
make a demand of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily in this 
second part of the alternative. 

On this basis you will propose that the electoral prince of 
Bavaria shall have the kingdom of Spain, and all that depends 
at present on that monarchy, with the reserve of what is 
contained in the following exceptions, namely, the kingdom 
of Navarre, the towns of Fontarabia and St. Sebastian, and 
the duchy of Luxemburg, which should be given to the 
Dauphin ; Milan and the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily 
to the archduke. 

It appears to me that the rights of my son cannot be re- 
duced to smaller demands. I was contented with stipulating 
for him the restitution of a kingdom which ought to belong 
to me, which the Spaniards have always unjustly retained, and 
which the kings, my predecessors, have never ceded. I require 
the duchy of Luxemburg only for the security of my frontiers. 
Lastly, at the same time that I thus limit the just claims of 
my son, I consent that the archduke shall enjoy the greater 
part of Italy, and may, perhaps, soon become master of it, 
from the situation of the states which he will possess in it. 

But if the king of England should still make the same dififi- Still a third 
culties on the cession of the duchy of Luxemburg, I consent P^^" 
that you shall propose to him a new alternative. The electoral 
prince of Bavaria should have the monarchy of Spain, and 
what now depends upon it, with the exception of the king- 
dom of Navarre, which should be ceded to my son, with 
Milan, Final, and the places on the coast of Tuscany ; the 
archduke should have the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. 



S6o 



Readi7igs in English History 



1 



By this last alternative I ask nothing which can cause the 
slightest jealousy to England and Holland. The power of the 
archduke would be an object of less suspicion to Italy, and 
yet a considerable share would be left to him. Of all these 
alternatives I should prefer that which shall be judged the 
best calculated to preserve the general tranquillity. 

I shall expect the answer of the king of England to these 
proposals ; and they must show the desire which I have to pre- 
vent all occurrences which might interrupt the general peace. 



II. The Reign of Anne 

The battle of Blenheim signalized the second year of 
the war which now broke out, and almost immediately 
raised the English commander, the duke of Marlborough, 
to the position of one of the most eminent men in Europe. 
He speaks of the battle and of the political complications 
of the time in the following letters to his wife. 

339. Marl- I have not time to say more, but to beg you will give my 
borough to ^^^^ |.q ^^ queen, and let her know her army has had a 

glorious victory. M. Tallard and two other generals are in my 
August 13, coach, and I am following with the rest. The bearer, my 
1704 aid-de-camp, Colonel Parke, will give her an account of what 

has passed. I shall do it in a day or two, by another more 

at large. 

Marlborough. 

August 14, Before the battle was quite done yesterday I writ to my 

^704 dearest soul to let her know that I was well, and that God had 

blessed her Majesty's arms with as great a victory as has ever 

been kno^^Tl ; for prisoners I have the Marshall de Tallard, 

and the greatest part of his general officers, above 8000 men, 

The French and near 1500 officers. In short, the army of M. de Tallard, 

army scat- which was that which I fought with, is quite ruined ; that of 

tered o ' -i 

the Elector of Bavaria and the Marshall de Marsin, which 
Prince Eugene fought against, I am afraid has not had much 
loss, for I cannot find that he has many prisoners. As soon as 



Foundation of the British Empire 561 

the Elector knew that Monsieur de Tallard was like to be 
beaten, he marched off, so that I came only time enough to 
see him retire. As all these prisoners are taken by the troops 
I command, it is in my power to send as many of them to 
England as her Majesty shall think for her honor and service. 
My own opinion in this matter is that the Marshall de 
Tallard, and the general officers, should be sent or brought to 
her Majesty when I come to England ; but should all the 
officers be brought, it would be a very great expense, and I 
think the honor is in having the marshal and such other 
officers as her Majesty pleases. But I shall do in this, as in 
all things, that which shall be most agreeable to her. I am 
so very much out of order with having been seventeen hours 
on horseback yesterday, and not having been able to sleep 
above three hours last night, that I can write to none of my 
friends. However, I am so pleased with this action that I can't 
end my letter without being so vain as to tell my dearest soul 
that within the memory of man there has been no victory so 
great as this ; and as I am sure you love me entirely well, you 
will be infinitely pleased with what has been done, upon my 
account as well as the great benefit the public will have. For 
had the success of Prince Eugene been equal to his merit, we 
should in that day's action have made an end of the war. 

The religious organization of England by the time of 
Queen Anne had reached a somev^hat settled condition. 
But the mingled feelings of hostility and contempt on 
the part of the established church and of most persons 
of the ruling classes toward the Dissenters was still an 
important element in the political and social organiza- 
tion. This feeling is reflected in the two following selec- 
tions, the first from a well-known description of England 
that appeared in many successive editions, the second 
from a contemporary pamphlet. 

The greatest blemish to religion amongst us is the deplora- 
ble number of Dissenters from the established church, some 



562 



Readings in English History 



340. Extracts 

from Cham- 

berlayne's 

Angliae 

Notitiae 

(1704) 



prejudiced by education, some by sensuality, some by interest, 
and some few by a misguided zeal ; who, having repented of 
their former ill courses, whilst they called themselves members 
of the Church of England, they think they cannot thoroughly 
change their lives without changing their religion too, becom- 
ing like stray sheep, an easie prey to the next seducer [and 
learning to hold various strange doctrines]. 

All Protestant Dissenters from the church (except Antitrin- 
itarians) are tolerated, so long as they live peaceably and con- 
formably in the state ; and every man in England doth now 
enjoy a free liberty of conscience, and use of what religion 
best pleases him. The Dissenters from the Church of England 
are of these five sorts, principally Libertines, Papists, Anabap- 
tists, Independents, and Presbyterians. . . . 

Papists we have many ; yet not so many but that in a late 
government, when they all appear'd publickly, it was, and it 
is, a wonder how the designs of that handful of men could put 
the whole nation into such convulsions. . . . 

Anabaptists are of two sorts ; first, those who go vulgarly by 
that name ; and, secondly, those who are distinguished by the 
name of Quakers. 

The Anabaptists which go by that name are a more reason- 
able sort here in England than those of Flanders and Germany ; 
very few of ours are so wild, extravagant, and enthusiastical as 
those abroad : these submit themselves to civil government, 
and the chief article of their dissent in religion is concerning 
psedobaptism, which they hold unreasonable. Yet there is 
in many other things some of the Flemish leaven still amongst 
them, as accounting themselves the only pure church ; are 
envious at the establish'd church ; abhor paying of tithes ; and 
affect parity : but that which is worst of all, some of them have 
strange notions concerning our Blessed Saviour and his incar- 
nation, the Holy Trinity, the soul of man, etc. Some of these, 
as well as Quakers, are great admirers of Jacob Behmen and his 
sort of cant ; and many of them are closely wrapt up in Rosicru- 
cian divinity ; they look upon all liturgy and ceremonies as 
popish, allow that laymen may administer sacraments, expect 
an universal monarchy of Christ here on earth. 



Foundation of the BritisJi Empire 563 

Some of them are called Brownists, from Robert Brown of 
Northamptonshire, but there are some Brownists who allow 
of psedobaptism. Familists, or the Family of Love, we have 
scarce any remaining : Adamites none : but here are some 
Antinomians, who hold that no transgression is sin in the chil- 
dren of God : Traskites, now called Seventh-day men, who keep 
the Jewish Sabbath : Antisabbatarians, who keep none at all ; 
and the Muggletonians are scarce extinct, who say that God 
the Father, leaving the government of heaven to Elias, came 
down on earth and suffered in human form ; these deny the 
Holy Trinity, the creation of heaven and earth and water, the 
immortality of the soul, religious ministry, and, some of them, 
the authority of the civil magistrate. 

The other sort of Anabaptists are called Quakers, or Shakers, Quakers 
from the trembling and quaking caused in them by vapours 
in the ecstatick fits, especially after long fasting, and exercise, 
very much practised by the first disciples of this sect here in 
England, but of late almost wholly disused. 

They reject ministerial ordinances, and place religion wholly 
in the inward light of every man's private spirit, and how dif- 
ferent soever the impulses of one man's spirit from another, 
and how different notions soever they create, they account it 
all the same light infused by the spirit of God in different 
measures and degrees. They agree with other Anabaptists 
against infant baptism, and go far beyond them, even to the 
neglecting all baptism, and the other sacrament of the eucha- 
rist, all human learning, appropriate places and times of wor- 
ship, and abhor paying of tithes. . . . 

Independents are a sect lately sprung up from the Brownists. independents 
These have no general church government, but each particular 
congregation is ruled by their own laws and methods without 
dependence on one another ; are against all set form of prayer, 
even to the Lord's prayer. They give power to private men to 
erect and gather churches, elect, ordain, depose, excommuni- 
cate, and determine finally in all church causes. The laity some- 
times administer the sacraments, and magistrates administer the 
office of matrimony. They are most of them Millenaries and 
commence the last thousand years of Christ's kingdom from 



564 Readings in English History 

the beginning of independency. All those of the laity whom 
they account gifted men are permitted to preach and pray 
and to catechize the preacher concerning the doctrine he hath 
preached. They communicate frequently, sitting at a table, or 
without a table. 
Presbyterians Presbyterians maintain that there is only a nominal differ- 
ence between bishop, presbyter, and pastor ; and that " priest " 
is not a gospel word, but belongs only to sacrifices. They will 
not allow deacons to preach, but only collect for and administer 
to the poor. In every church they appoint lay elders and rulers, 
who are to inspect men's manners, and to bear a part in the 
government of the church ; they acknowledge a priority of orders 
ought to be amongst church governours, but not a priority of 
jurisdiction. They deny the civil magistrate any authority in 
church government, making the king a mere layman, and subject 
to the censures of parochial church governours. They have two 
church judiciaries, the Classical Assembly and the General As- 
sembly, to which latter there lies an appeal from the Classical. 
When we speak of any of these sectaries indiscriminately, 
we call them Dissenters and Nonconformists ; and they that 
speak more freely term them fanaticks and enthusiasts. It 
must be confessed that in all these sects there are some good 
moral men, nay, some of them zealous towards God, but in 
such a zeal as is not according to knowledge. 

The pamphlet from which the following passages are 
taken was written by the celebrated satirist and essayist 
Daniel Defoe. It is believed by some that he wrote this 
as his serious behef, by others that he intended it as a 
satire. Whichever way it was intended, it illustrates 
equally well the belief of the high church or Tory party 
of the time, that the Dissenters had already been too 
much favored and that the time had now come under 
Queen Anne when they should be completely excluded 
from all political influence. Fortunately the toleration 
already granted to them was never taken away. 



Fonmiation of tJie British Empire 565 

Sir Roger L' Estrange tells us a story in his collection of 341. Daniel 
fables, of the cock and the horses. The cock was gotten to ^^^o^, 
roost in the stable among the horses, and there being no racks u^ay with 
or other conveniences for him, it seems he was forced to roost Dissenters 
upon the ground. The horses jostling about for room, and 
putting the cock in danger of his life, he gives them this grave • 

advice, " Pray, gentlefolks, let us stand still, for fear we should 
tread upon one another." 

There are some people in the world, who now they are un- 
perched, and reduced to an equality with other people, and 
under strong and very just apprehensions of being further 
treated as they deserve, begin, with .^sop's cock, to preach 
up peace and union, and the Christian duties of moderation, 
forgetting that, when they had the power in their hands, these 
graces were strangers in their gates. 

It is now near fourteen years that the glory and peace of Fourteen 
the purest and most flourishing church in the world has been y^^^^ ^mce 
eclipsed, buffeted, and disturbed by a sort of men whom God ha^been" 
in his providence has suffered to insult over her and bring her granted to 
down. These have been the days of her humiliation and tribu- ^^^ ^'^' 

S6nters by 

lation. She has borne with invincible patience the reproach theactofi689 
of the wicked, and God has at last heard her prayers and 
delivered her from the oppression of the stranger. 

And now they find their day is over, their power is gone, 
and the throne of this nation possessed by a royal, English, 
true, and ever-constant member of and friend to the Church of 
England; now they find that they are in danger of the Church 
of England's just resentments ; now they cry out peace, union, 
forbearance, and charity, as if the church had not too long 
harbored her enemies under her wing, and nourished the viper- 
ous brood till they hiss and fly in the face of the mother that 
cherished them. 

No, gentlemen, the time of mercy is past; your day of grace 
is over ; you should have practiced peace, and moderation, and 
charity, if you expected any yourselves. 

We have heard none of this lesson for fourteen years past. 
We have been huffed and bullied with your Act of Toleration ; 
you have told us that you are the church established by law, 



5^6 Readings in English History 

as well as others ; have set up your canting synagogues at our 
church doors, and the church and members have been loaded 
with reproaches, with oaths, associations, abjurations, and what 
not. Where has been the mercy, the forbearance, the charity, 
you have shown to tender consciences of the Church of Eng- 
• land, that could not take oaths as fast as you made them ; that, 

Jacobite having sworn allegiance to their lawful and rightful king, could 

clergy not dispense with that oath, their king being still alive, and 

swear to your new hodgepodge of a Dutch government? These 
have been turned out of their livings, and they and their fam- 
ilies left to starve ; their estates double taxed to carry on a war 
they had no hand in, and you got nothing by. What account 
can you give of the multitudes you have forced to comply, 
against their consciences, with your new sophistical politics, 
who, like new converts in France, sin because they cannot 
starve? And now the tables are turned upon you; you must 
not be persecuted ; it is not a Christian spirit. 
Charles I, You have butchered one king, deposed another king, and 

James II, and j-^ade a mock king of a third, and yet you could have the face 
to expect to be employed and trusted by the fourth. Anybody 
that did not know the temper of your party would stand amazed 
at the impudence, as well as folly, to think of it. . . . 

The union with Scotland was the most permanent 
change dating from the reign of Anne. There was long 
opposition to it in Scotland and but little popular inter- 
est in England, but it was finally carried through by acts 
of the two parliaments, the following being the most 
important sections of the English act. 

342. Extracts I. That the two kingdoms of England and Scotland shall, 
from the Act upon the first day of May which shall be in the year one 
h^Q») thousand seven hundred and seven, and forever after, be 

united into one kingdom by the name of Great Britain ; and 
that the ensigns armorial of the said United Kingdom be such 
as her Majesty shall appoint, and the crosses of St. George and 
St. Andrew "be conjoined in such manner as her Majesty shall 



Foundatiofi of the British Empire 567 

think fit, and used in all flags, banners, standards, and ensigns, 
both at sea and land. 

II. That the succession to the monarchy of the United Succession to 
Kingdom of Great Britain and of the dominions thereto be- *'^^ "°^" 
longing, after her most sacred Majesty and in default of issue 

of her Majesty, be, remain, and continue to the most excellent 
princess Sophia, electress and duchess dowager of Hanover, 
and the heirs of her body, being Protestants, upon whom the 
crown of England is settled by an act of parliament made in 
England in the twelfth year of the reign of his late Majesty 
King William the Third. . . . 

III. That the United Kingdom of Great Britain be repre- The united 
sented by one and the same parliament to be styled the parliament 
parliament of Great Britain. 

IV. That all the subjects of the United Kingdom of Great Freedom of 
Britain shall from and after the union have full freedom and ^^'^^'^ between 

r 1 1 • • 1 /■ England and 

mtercourse of trade and navigation to and from any port or Scotland 
place within the said United Kingdom and the dominions and 
plantations thereunto belonging ; and that there be a commu- 
nication of all other rights, privileges, and advantages, which 
do or may belong to the subjects of either kingdom, except 
where it is otherwise expressly agreed in these articles. 

XXII. That by virtue of this treaty, of the peers of Scotland Sixteen peers 
at the time of the union sixteen shall be the number to sit and ^"'^ forty-five 

commoners to 

vote m the House of Lords, and forty-five the number of the sit in the 
representatives of Scotland in the House of Commons of the united parha- 
parliament of Great Britain. . . . ^^^ 

Some of the keenest and bitterest observations on 
Ireland in the early eighteenth century, which was one 
of its most unhappy periods, were made by Jonathan 
Swift, who was born in Dublin and held a position in 
the established church in Ireland. The two following 
passages are taken from two pamphlets written by him 
in the year 1727. 

Ireland is the only kingdom I ever heard or read of, either 
in ancient or modern story, which was denied the liberty of 



568 



Readings in English History 



exporting their native commodities and manufactures wherever 
they pleased, except to countries at war with their own prince 
or state : yet this privilege, by the superiority of mere power, 
is refused us in the most momentous parts of commerce ; 
besides an act of navigation, to which we never consented, 
pinned down upon us, and rigorously executed ; and a thou- 
sand other unexampled circumstances, as grievous as they are 
invidious to mention. To go on to the rest. 

It is too well known that we are forced to obey some laws 
we never consented to. . . . Thus we are in the condition 
of patients who have physic sent them by doctors at a dis- 
tance, strangers to their constitution and the nature of their 
disease ; and thus we are forced to pay five hundred per cent 
to decide our properties : in all which we have likewise the 
honor to be distinguished from the whole race of mankind. . . . 

We are so far from having a king to reside among us, that 
even the viceroy is generally absent four fifths of his time. 

No strangers from other countries make this a part of their 
travels, where they can expect to see nothing but scenes of 
misery and desolation. 

Those who have the misfortune to be born here, have the 
least title to any considerable employment ; to which they are 
seldom preferred, but upon a political consideration. 

One third part of the rents of Ireland is spent in England ; 
which, with the profit of employments, pensions, appeals, jour- 
neys of pleasure or health, education at the inns of court and 
both universities, remittances at pleasure, the pay of all superior 
offices in the army, and other incidents, will amount to a full half 
of the incomeof thewhole kingdom, — all clear profit to England. 

We are denied the liberty of coining gold, silver, or even 
copper. In the Isle of Man they coin their own silver ; every 
petty prince, vassal to the emperor, can coin what money he 
pleases. And in this, as in most of the articles already men- 
tioned, we are an exception to all other states or monarchies 
that were ever known in the world. . . . 



Another class of burdens is referred to in the next 
extract. 



Foundation of the British Empire 569 

The first and greatest shock our trade received was from 344. Swift, 
an act passed in the reign of King William, in the parliament ^il^ Present 
of England, prohibiting the exportation of wool manufactured state of 
in Ireland ; an act (as the event plainly shews) fuller of greedi- V-^.^\^ 
ness than good policy ; an act as beneficial to France and 
Spain as it has been destructive to England and Ireland. At 
the passing of this fatal act the condition of our trade was 
glorious and flourishing, though no way interfering with the 
English. . . . Coarse druggets, bays, and shalloons, worsted 
damasks, strong draught works, slight half works, and gaudy 
stuffs were the only product of our looms : these were partly 
consumed by the meanest of our people, and partly sent to the 
northern nations, from which we had in exchange timber, iron, 
hemp, flax, pitch, tar, and hard dollars. . . . This money was 
returned into England for fine cloths, silks, etc., for our own 
wear, for rents, for coals, for hardware, and all other English 
manufactures, and, in a great measure, supplied the London 
merchants with foreign silver for exportation. 

The repeated clamors of the English weavers produced this 
act, so destructive to themselves and us. They looked with 
envious eyes upon our prosperity, and complained of being 
undersold by us in those commodities which they themselves 
did not deal in. At their instances the act was passed, and we 
lost our profitable northern trade. . . . 

The only manufactured wares we are allowed to export are Linen alone 
linen cloth and linen yarn, which are marketable only in Eng- allowed to be 

T- -J exported any- 

land ; the rest of our commodities are wool, restrained to where 
England, and raw hides, skins, tallow, beef, and butter. Now 
these are things for which the northern nations have no occa- 
sion ; we are therefore obliged, instead of carrying woolen 
goods to their markets, and bringing home money, to purchase 
their commodities. 

In France, Spain, and Portugal our wares are more valua- 
ble, though it must be owned our fraudulent trade in wool is 
the best branch of our commerce ; from hence we get wines, 
brandy, and fruit very cheap, and in great perfection ; so that 
though England has constrained us to be poor, they have given 
us leave to be merry. . . . 



570 Readhigs in English History 

To England we are allowed to send nothing but linen cloth, 
yarn, raw hides, skins, tallow, and wool. From thence we have 
coals, for which we always pay ready money, India goods, Eng- 
lish wojolen and silks, tobacco, hardware, earthenware, salt, 
and several other commodities. Our exportations to England 
are very much overbalanced by our importations ; so that the 
course of exchange is generally too high, and people choose 
rather to make their remittances to England in specie than 
by a bill, and our nation is perpetually drained of its little 
running cash. 

Absenteeism Another cause of the decay of trade, scarcity of money, and 

of the gentry swelling of exchange is the unnatural affectation of our gentry 
to reside in and about London. Their rents are remitted to 
them, and spent there. The countryman lacks employment 
from them ; the country shopkeeper lacks their custom. For 
this reason he can't pay his Dublin correspondent readily, nor 
take off a great quantity of his wares. Therefore the Dublin 
merchant can't employ the artisan, nor keep up his credit in 
foreign markets. . . . 

Rack rents Another great calamity is the exorbitant raising of the rents 

of lands. Upon the determination of all leases made before 
the year 1690, a gentleman thinks he has but indifferently im- 
proved his estate if he has only doubled his rent roll. Farms 
are screwed up to a rack rent, leases granted but for a small 
term of years, tenants tied down to hard conditions, and dis- 
couraged from cultivating the lands they occupy to the best 
advantage, by the certainty they have of the rent being raised, 
on the expiration of their lease, proportionately to the improve- 
ments they shall make. Thus is honest industry restrained ; 
the farmer is a slave to his landlord ; 't is well if he can cover 
his family with a coarse homespun frieze. The artisan has 
little dealing with him ; yet he is obliged to take his provisions 
from him at an extravagant price, otherwise the farmer cannot 
pay his rent. 

Sheep farme The proprietors of lands keep great part of them in their 
own hands for sheep pasture ; and there are thousands of poor 
wretches who think themselves blessed if they can obtain a hut 
worse than the squire's dog kennel and an acre of ground for 



Foundation of the British Empire 571 

a potato plantation, on condition of being as very slaves as any 
in America. What can be more deplorable than to behold 
wretches starving in the midst of plenty ! 

We are apt to charge the Irish with laziness, because we 
seldom find them employed ; but then we don't consider they 
have nothing to do. Sir William Temple, in his excellent re- 
marks on the United Provinces, inquires why Holland, which 
has the fewest and worst ports and commodities of any nation 
in Europe, should abound in trade, and Ireland, which has 
the most and best of both, should have none ? This great man 
attributes this surprising accident to the natural aversion man 
has for labor ; who will not be persuaded to toil and fatigue 
himself for the superfluities of life throughout the week, when 
he may provide himself with all necessary subsistence by the 
labor of a day or two. But, with due submission to Sir William's 
profound judgment, the want of trade with us is rather owing 
to the cruel restraints we lie under than to any disqualification 
whatsoever in our inhabitants. 



III. George I, George II, and Sir Robert Walpole 

The characters of the first two kings of the house 
of Hanover, who reigned from i7i4to 1727 and from 
1727 to 1760 respectively, are well, though by no means 
favorably, sketched by Lord Chesterfield, who knew 
them both and was long attached to the court of 
George II. With all their interests restricted to their 
German dominions, and accepted as rulers in England 
only as a means of excluding the Catholic Stuarts, 
they exercised but little real power in the government. 
Their low personal character, moreover, exerted a bad 
influence on society. 

George the First was an honest, dull, German gentleman, 
as unfit as unwilling to act the part of a king, which is to 
shine and to oppress. Lazy and inactive, even in his pleasures. 



572 Readings in English History 

345. A con- which were therefore lowly sensual, he was coolly intrepid and 
temporary indolently benevolent. He was dififident of his own parts, which 
the first two ii^s-de him speak little in public, and prefer in his social, which 
Georges were his favourite, hours the company of wags and buffoons. 
Even his mistress, the duchess of Kendal, with whom he passed 
George I most of his time, and who had all influence over him, was very 
little above an idiot. 

Importunity alone could make him act, and then only to 
get rid of it. His views and affections were singly confined to 
the narrow compass of his electorate ; England was too big 
for him. If he had nothing great as a king, he had nothing 
bad as a man ; and if he does not adorn, at least he will not 
stain, the annals of this country. In private life he would have 
been loved and esteemed as a good citizen, a good friend, 
and a good neighbor. Happy were it for Europe, happy for 
the world, if there were not greater kings in it ! 

George II ... He had not better parts than his father, but much 

stronger animal spirits, which made him produce and commu- 
nicate himself more. Everything in his composition was little ; 
and he had all the weaknesses of a little mind, without any of 
the virtues, or even the vices, of a great one. He loved to 
act the king, but mistook the part; and the royal dignity 
shrunk into the electoral pride. He was educated upon that 
scale, and never enlarged its dimensions with his dominions. 
As elector of Hanover he thought himself great ; as king of 
Great Britain only rich. Avarice, the meanest of all passions, 
was his ruling one ; and I never knew him deviate into any 
generous action. . . . 

In council he was excessively timorous, and thought by 
many to be so in person ; but of this I can say nothing on 
my o\Mi knowledge. In his dress and in his conversation he 
affected the hero so much, that from thence only many called 
his courage in question, though, by the way, that is no certain 
rule to judge by, since the, bravest men with weak understand- 
ings constantly fall into that error. 

Little things, as he has often told me himself, affected him 
more than great ones ; and this was so true that I have often 



Foundatioji of the British Empire 573 

seen him put so much out of humor at his private levee, by 
a mistake or bkmder of a valet de chamdre, that the gaping 
crowd admitted to his public levee have, from his looks and 
silence, concluded that he had just received some dreadful 
news. Tacitus would always have been deceived by him. . . . 

He well knew that he was governed by the queen while 
she lived, and that she was governed by Sir Robert Walpole ; 
but he kept that secret inviolably, and flattered himself that 
nobody had discovered it. . . . He was very well-bred ; but 
it was in a stiff and formal manner, and produced in others 
that restraint which they saw he was under himself. . . . 

Upon the whole he was rather a weak than a bad man or 
king. His government was mild as to prerogative, but burden- 
some as to taxes. ... I have dwelt the longer upon this char- 
acter because I was so long and so well acquainted with it; 
for above thirty years I was always near his person, and had 
constant opportunities of observing him, both in his regal robes 
and in his undress. I have accompanied him in his pleasures 
and been employed in his business. I have, by turns, been as 
well and as ill with him as any man in England. Impartial and 
unprejudiced, I have drawn this character from the life, and 
after a forty years' sitting. 

The devotion of George II to Hanover and his dis- 
approval of English customs are brought out still more 
clearly in the Memoirs of Lord Hervey, another courtier 
of the period. 

After this last journey Hanover had so completed the con- 346. George II 
quest of his affections that there was nothing English ever ^°^ Hanover 
commended in his presence that he did not always show, or 
pretend to show, was surpassed by something of the same kind 
in Germany. No English or even French cook could dress a 
dinner ; no English confectioner set out a dessert ; no Eng- 
lish player could act ; no English coachman could drive, or 
English jockey ride ; nor were any English horses fit to be 
drove or fit to be ridden ; no Englishman knew how to come 
into a room, nor any Englishwoman how to dress herself . . . 



574 Readings in English History 

whereas at Hanover all these things were in the utmost per- 
fection. . . . 

In truth he hated the English, looked upon them all as 
king killers and republicans, grudged them their riches as well 
as their liberty, thought them all overpaid, and said to Lady 
Sundon one day as she was waiting at dinner, just after he 
had returned from Germany, that he was forced to distribute 
his favors here very differently from the manner in which he 
bestowed them at Hanover ; that there he rewarded people 
for doing their duty and serving him well, but that here he 
was obliged to enrich people for being rascals, and buy them 
not to cut his throat. 

The rise of Sir Robert Walpole, on the settlement of 
the South Sea panic, the large part he took in the gov- 
ernment between 1720 and 1742, his interest in the 
secret service or bribery fund, the opposition to him, 
and his final fall from office, lightened as this was by 
his appointment to a peerage, will appear from the 
following group of contemporary letters, extending over 
the whole twenty years of his ministry. 

347. William Dear Cousin : 

Pultney to j ^j^ perfectly ashamed to write to you, having received so 

ney (Lon- many letters from you without answering one of them ; but I 
don, Novem- hope you will forgive me when I assure you that I have done 
ber 20, 1720) nQthij^g^ j^or thought of nothing, for these last two months, 
but South Sea stock, and yet I am not myself any great suf- 
ferer by it ; but so many of my acquaintances are ruined and 
undone that I am under as much anxiety and uneasiness of 
mind as if I was so myself. 'T is ridiculous to tell you what a 
summe I might once have been master of ; but since I had 
not discretion enough to secure that, 't is still some comfort 
to me to have putt my affairs in such a way that lett what will 
happen I can be no loser by it. The king's coming, which 
everybody thought would have in some measure revived the 
stock, has from abundance of simple stories that have been 



Foundation of the British Empire 575 

artfully dispersed rather depressed it, and within this week the 
stock has been sold at 120^. 

It has been reported that Mr. Walpole, who has the great- 
est influence of any one over the directors of the bank, has all 
this while prevented their complying with the bargain they 
made with the South Sea Company, and that he has it now 
in his power to ruin the South Sea scheme and the authors 
of it at once, in revenge for the trick they formerly served 
him. To tell you the plain truth, I do not think there is 
any very cordial affection between the ministers and him ; 
but it is so much the interest of both of them to relieve man- 
kind from this generall calamity, that I am persuaded they 
must co-operate in all measures for doing of it, and upon 
their meeting yesterday, when Mr. Walpole proposed some 
things for the South Sea, which was agreed to by the min- 
isters, the stock gott up to 200;j^. 

My Lord : 348. Sir Rob- 

I have nothing to trouble your lordship with this post, hav- ^^^ Walpole 
• 1 r o , J • 1 , , to Lord 

uig no particulars from Scotland smce my last, but general xownshend 

accounts that every thing is like to go on very well, and 't is Secretary of 

now hoped that the malt tax will be levied and collected State (Lon- 

don, Septem- 
without any further dispute. The occasion of my troubling bery, 1725) 

you now is to transmit to your lordship the three enclosed 
warrants and receipts for money to be issued out of the secret The secret 
service, which will be wanted at Michaelmas, or at least no service fund 
more of it shall be issued than shall be absolutely necessary. 
The unexpected sums that have been paid since his Majesty's 
departure, which your lordship is acquainted with, make it 
necessary to send over these warrants, that it may be in my 
power to answer some payments that become due at Michael- 
mas, and to be able to answer any unforeseen services ; but I 
hope the whole will not be wanted before the king's return. 
Be pleased, my lord, to present them to his Majesty to be 
signed ; the dates are left blank, to be filled up at the times 
that the money shall be wanted. His Majesty will remember 
that the receipts are to be signed at the top, with G. R. at 
bottom. You will observe that I am preparing to get my 



5/6 



Readings in English History 



349. Lord 
Bolingbroke 
to Sir Wil- 
liam Wynd- 
ham (July 
25, 1740) 



Walpole's 
influence to 
prevent a war 
with Spain 



350. Sir Rob- 
ert Walpole 
to the duke 
of Devon- 
shire (Lon- 
don, Febru- 
ary 2, 1742) 



business dispatched with an eye to some October hunting, or 
you had not heard of me so soon on this account. I am very 
truly and affectionately, my dear lord, your lordship's most 
faithful, humble servant, ^^^^^^ Walpole. 

I agree that if any private job was to be done, or connived 
att, against the national interest, and in favour of some other 
to which the prince on the throne might be supposed affec- 
tionate, Sir Robert would not fail to make his court. This we 
have seen. But how can it be supposed, in the present case, 
that the prince on the throne should think it his interest to 
favour Spain att the expense of Great Britain, unless Sir 
Robert has persuaded him that it is so? But then the ques- 
tion returns, how has he persuaded him? He may think that 
Philip II is on the throne of Spain; that an invincible armada 
will invade his kingdom ; that the pretender is actually in it ; 
and that a formidable party, composed of all Sir Robert's 
enemys, is ready to take arms against the establishment. But 
his minister knows, I believe, that Philip V is on the throne 
of Spain ; he must have heard something, even from Wager, of 
the weakness of the maritime forces of Spain ; his brother may 
have informed him that the pretender is att Rome ; and as he is 
well enough apprized of the state of things att home, he must 
know that the Jacobite party in Britain is an unorganized lump 
of inert ijiatter, without a principle of life or action in it ; capa- 
ble of mobility, perhaps, but more capable of divisibility, and 
utterly void of all power of spontaneous motion. . . . 

I was unwilling to miss this opportunity of the messenger that 
carries back the Irish bills, to give your grace an account by a 
safe conveyance of what will immediately happen within the 
space of three or four days. It is determined that the king shall 
tomorrow, when he passes the malt act, direct the two houses 
to adjourn themselves for a fortnight to give time for settling a 
new administration. I shall go up immediately to the House 
of Peers with the title of earl of Orford. Lord Wilmington will 
be put at the head of the treasury ; but what further steps will 
be taken are yet by no means settled among themselves. 



Foundation of the British Einpi^-e ^yj 

To give your grace a short view of this great revolution, I Announces 
must inform you that the panick was so great among what I '^'^ ^^^^ *^''°'" 
should call my own friends that they all declared my retiring 
was become absolutely necessary, as the only means to carry 
on the publick businesse, and this to be attended with honour 

and security, &c. This was fixed with the d. of N , Lord 

Ch-r, Lord Ca-tt, and Mr. Pultney, but the king has declared 
Lord Wil-n my successor. ... I will conclude with acquaint- 
ing you that the king has behaved towards me with more grace 
and steadinesse than can ever be enough acknowledged, and 
never yielded at all to the change till I made it my desire. 

Dear Sir : 351. The 

I was with Sir Robert Walpole this morning. He has de- marquis of 

. , . , , J . Hartmgton 

sired me to write to you, to beg 01 you not to determine your- to the duke 

self in any way till he has spoke to you. He seems to bear his of Devon- 
change of fortune with great spirit. I own for my part I never ^q^ pe5°ry'. 
saw a more melancholy scene than his levee was this morning, ary 4, 1742) 
It was the fullest that ever was, I believe, and the greatest 
concern in everybody's looks. I hope you will let me hear 
from you as soon as possible. Our situation will be, I am 
afraid, a very confused one ; and I shall be desirous of acting 
as I thought would be most agreeable to you, and I flatter 
myself that I shall have your approbation, when I told Sir 
Robert today, upon his saying that he hoped I would stand 
by the government, which 'he himself would endeavour to 
support, that he might depend upon it that I would do every- 
thing that I could do to support him and the measures that 
he should advise. But I hope now he will be above the reach 
of all his enemys, tho' the Jac-tes and people of that com- 
plexion were very warm yesterday in the House of Commons, 
and declar'd that they did not yet despair of having his life ; 
but Sir Robert told me that he had wrote you a full account 
when the bills went, that it will be unnecessary for me to say 
anything more on this subject. They say, and I had it from 
his son, that when he took leave of the king, and kneeled 
down, the king burst into a flood of tears, and express'd great 
concern at parting with him. . . . 



352. A con- 
temporary 
description of 
Walpole 



His private 
life 



His parlia- 
mentary skill 



578 Readings in English History 

Lord Chesterfield has devoted one of his keen charac- 
ter sketches to Walpole, whom he describes as follows : 

I much question whether an impartial character of Sir 
Robert Walpole will or can be transmitted to posterity ; for 
he governed this kingdom so long that the various passions of 
mankind mingled, and in a manner incorporated themselves, 
with everything that was said or written concerning him. 
Never was man more flattered nor more abused ; and his long 
power was probably the chief cause of both. I was much 
acquainted with him both in his public and his private life. 
I mean to do impartial justice to his character ; and therefore 
my picture of him will, perhaps, be more like him than it will 
be like any of the other pictures drawn of him. 

In private life he was good-natured, cheerful, social ; in- 
elegant in his manners, loose in his morals. He had a coarse, 
strong wit, which he was too free of for a man in his station, 
as it is always inconsistent with dignity. He was very able as 
a minister, but without a certain elevation of mind necessary 
for great good or great mischief. Profuse and appetent, his 
ambition was subservient to his desire of making a great for- 
tune. He had more of the Mazarin than of the Richelieu. 
He would do mean things for profit, and never thought of 
doing great ones for glory. 

He was both the best parliament-man and the ablest man- 
ager of parliament that I believe ever lived. An artful rather 
than an eloquent speaker, he saw as by intuition the dispo- 
sition of the House, and pressed or receded accordingly. So 
clear in stating the most intricate matters, especially in the 
finances, that, whilst he was speaking, the most ignorant 
thought that they understood what they really did not. Money, 
not prerogative, was the chief engine of his administration ; 
and he employed it with a success which in a manner disgraced 
humanity. He was not, it is true, the inventor of that shame- 
ful method of governing, which had been gaining ground in- 
sensibly ever since Charles H, but with uncommon skill and 
unbounded profusion he brought it to that perfection which 
at this time dishonours and distresses this country, and which 



Foiindatio7i of the British Empire 5 79 

(if not checked, and God knows how it can be now checked) 
must ruin it. 

Besides this powerful engine of government, he had a most 
extraordinary talent of persuading and working men up to his 
purpose. A hearty kind of frankness, which sometimes seemed 
impudence, made people think that he let them into his secrets, 
whilst the impoliteness of his manners seemed to attest his 
sincerity. When he found any body proof against pecuniary 
temptations, which, alas ! was but seldom, he had recourse to 
a still worse art : for he laughed at and ridiculed all notions 
of public virtue, and the love of one's country, calling them 
" the chimerical schoolboy flights of classical learning," declar- 
ing himself, at the same time, " no saint, no Spartan, no re- 
former." He would frequently ask young fellows, at their first 
appearance in the world, while their honest hearts were yet 
untainted, "Well, are you to be an old Roman? a patriot? 
You will soon come off of that, and grow wiser." And thus 
he was more dangerous to the morals than to the liberties of 
his country, to which I am persuaded he meant no ill in his 
heart. . . . 

The poet Pope dravv^s a more attractive picture of 
Walpole in the follow^ing stanza : 

Seen him I have, but in his happier hour 353. A poetic 

Of social pleasure, ill exchanged for power : reference to 

„ , • 1 1 • , , 1-1 Walpole 

been hmi, uncumbered with the venal tribe, 

Smile without art, and win without a bribe. 



IV. The Rebellion of the Young Pretender and the 

Wesleyan Movement 

I ^ 

The following passages are extracts from the letters 
of Horace Walpole, son of Sir Robert Walpole, a fa- 
mous letter writer, and connected by family with many 
of the leading statesmen and noblemen of the time, but 
not himself in office. The letters are addressed to Sir 



58o 



Readings in English History 



Horace Mann, ambassador of England in Florence, and 
are all written from Walpole's house in Arlington 
Street, London. It can be seen how through the fall 
and winter of 1745 and 1746 the invasion of Scotland 
and England by Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, 
was watched and feared. 



354. Horace 
Walpole to 
Sir Horace 
Mann (Lon- 
don, Septem- 
ber 6, 1745) 



September 13, 
''745 



It would have been inexcusable in me, in our present cir- 
cumstances, and after all I have promised you, not to have 
written to you for this last month, if I had been in London ; 
but I have been at Mount Edgecumbe, and so constantly upon 
the road that I neither received your letters, had time to write, 
or knew what to write. I came back last night, and found three 
packets from you, which I have no time to answer and but just 
time to read. The confusion I have found, and the danger we 
are in, prevent my talking of anything else. The Young Pre- 
tender, at the head of three thousand men, has got a march on 
General Cope, who is not eighteen hundred strong ; and when 
the last accounts came away, was fifty miles nearer Edinburgh 
than Cope, and by this time is there. The clans will not rise 
for the government : the dukes of Argyll and Athol are come 
post to town, not having been able to raise a man. . . . 

The rebellion goes on ; but hitherto there is no rising in 
England, nor landing of troops from abroad ; indeed not even 
of ours or the Dutch. The best account I can give you is, that 
if the boy has apparently no enemies in Scotland, at least he 
has openly very few friends. Nobody of note has joined him, 
but a brother of the duke of Athol (the marquis of TuUibar- 
dine), and another of Lord Dunmore. For cannon they have 
nothing but one-pounders : their greatest resource is money ; 
they have force Louis-d'ors. The last accounts left them at 
Perth, making shoes and stockings. It is certain that a serjeant 
of Cope's, with twelve men, put to flight two hundred, on kill- 
ing only six or seven. Two hundred of the Monroe clan have 
joined our forces. Spirit seems to rise in London, though not 
in the proportion it ought ; and then the person most concerned 
(the king) does everything to check its progress : when the 



Foundation of the British Empire 581 

ministers propose anything witli regard to the rebellion, he 
cries, " Pho ! don't talk to me of that stuff." Lord Granville 
has persuaded him that it is of no consequence. . . . 

The deputy governor of Edinburgh Castle has threatened 
the magistrates to beat their town about their ears, if they 
admit the rebels. Perth is twenty-four miles from Edinburgh, 
so we must soon know whether they will go thither or leave 
it and come into England. We have great hopes that the 
Highlanders will not follow him so far. Very few of them 
could be persuaded the last time to go to Preston; and 
several refused to attend King Charles II when he marched 
to Worcester. The Caledonian Mercury never calls them 
" the rebels," but " the Highlanders." . . . 

One really does n't know what to write to you : the accounts September 20, 
from Scotland vary perpetually, and at best are never very '745 
certain. I was just going to tell you that the rebels are in 
England ; but my uncle (old Horace) is this moment come 
in, and says that an express came last night with an account 
of their being in Edinburgh to the number of five thousand. 
This sounds great, to have walked through a kingdom and 
taken possession of the capital ! But this, capital is an open 
town, and the castle impregnable and in our possession. 
There never was so extraordinary a rebellion ! One can't 
tell what assurances of support they may have from the 
Jacobites in England, or from the French ; but nothing of 
either sort has yet appeared — and if there does not, never 
was so desperate an enterprise. . . . 

Cope lay in face of the rebels all Friday ; he scarce two September 27, 
thousand strong, they vastly superior, though we don't know '745 
their numbers. The military people say that he should have 
attacked them. However, we are sadly convinced that they 
are not such raw ragamuffins as they were represented. The 
rotation that has been established in that country, to give all Jacobite 
the Highlanders the benefit of serving in the independent '^'ctory at 
companies, has trained and disciplined them. MacDonald (I (September 
suppose he from Naples), who is reckoned a very experienced, 21) 
able officer, is said to have commanded them and to be danger- 
ously wounded. One does not hear the boy's personal valour 



582 



Readings in English History 



cried up ; by which I conclude he was not in the action. Our 
dragoons most shamefully fled without striking a blow, and are 
with Cope, who escaped in a boat to Berwick. . . . 

We have lost all our artillery, five hundred men taken, and 
three killed, and several officers, as you will see in the papers. 
This defeat has frightened everybody but those it rejoices and 
those it should frighten most ; but my lord Granville still buoys 
up the king's spirits, and persuades him it is nothing. He uses 
his ministers as ill as possible, and discourages everybody that 
would risk their lives and fortunes with him. Marshall Wade 
is marching against the rebels, but the king will not let him 
take above eight thousand men ; so that if they come into 
England, another battle, with no advantage on our side, may 
determine our fate. Indeed, they don't seem so unwise as to 
risk their cause upon so precarious an event ; but rather to 
design to establish themselves in Scotland, till they can be 
supported from France, and be set up with taking Edinburgh 
Castle, where there is to the value of a million, and which 
they would make a stronghold. It is scarcely victualled for a 
month, and must surely fall into their hands. Our coasts are 
greatly guarded, and London kept in awe by the arrival of the 
guards. I don't believe what I have been told this morning, 
that more troops are sent for from Flanders, and aid asked 
of Denmark. . . . 

I have so trained myself to expect this ruin, that I see it 
approach without any emotion. I shall suffer with fools, with- 
out having any malice to our enemies, who act sensibly from 
principle and from interest. Ruling parties seldom have caution 
or common sense. I don't doubt but Whigs and Protestants 
will be alert enough in trying to recover what they lose so 
supinely. . . . 

The parliament met on Thursday. I don't think, consider- 
ing the crisis, that the House was very full. Indeed, many of 
the Scotch members cannot come if they would. The Young 
Pretender had published a declaration, threatening to confis- 
cate the estates of the Scotch that should come to parliament, 
and making it treason for the English. The only points that 
have been before the House, the address and suspension of 



Foundation of the British Empire 583 

the Habeas Corpus, met with obstructions from the Jacobites. 
By this we may expect that spirit they will show hereafter. 

All my hopes are in Wade, who was so sensible of the igno- November 22, 
ranee of our governors that he refused to accept the com- '745 
mand, till they consented that he should be subject to no kind 
of orders from hence. The rebels are reckoned up to thirteen 
thousand : Wade marches with about twelve ; but if they come 
southward, the other army will probably be to fight them ; the 
duke is to command it, and sets out next week with another 
brigade of Guards and Ligonier under him. There are many 
apprehensions for Chester from the Flintshire-men, who are 
ready to rise. A quartermaster, first sent to Carlisle, was seized 
and carried to Wade ; he behaved most insolently ; and being 
asked by the general, how many the rebels were, replied, 
"Enough to beat any army you have in England." . . . 

Yesterday they had another baiting from Pitt, who is raven- An early 
ous for the place of secretary of war : they would a^e it him, appearance of 

\. . , . . , , • r , • William Pitt 

but, as a prehminary, he msists on a declaration of our having ^^ jj^g g^g^g 
nothing to do with the continent. He mustered his forces, but 
did not notify his intention ; only at two o'clock Lyttleton said 
at the Treasury that there would be business at the House. 
The motion was, to augment our naval force, which Pitt said 
was the only method of putting an end to the rebellion. Ships 
built a year hence to suppress an army of Highlanders now 
marching through England ! My uncle (oM Horace) attacked 
him, and congratulated his country on the wisdom of the 
modern young men ; and said he had a son of two-and- 
twenty, who, he did not doubt, would come over wiser than 
any of them. Pitt was provoked, and retorted on his " nego- 
tiations and gray-headed experience." At those words my 
uncle, as if he had been at Bartholomew Fair, snatched off his 
wig and showed his gray hairs, which made the august senate 
laugh, and put Pitt out, who after laughing himself diverted 
his venom upon Mr. Pelham. Upon the question Pitt's party 
amounted to but thirty-six : in short, he has nothing left but 
his words and his haughtiness and his Lyttletons and his 
Grenvilles. Adieu. [Numerous letters through the next four 
months describe the progress and decline of the invasion.] 



584 



Readings in English History 



April 25, 
1746 



Battle of 
Culloden and 
failure of the 
rebellion 



On the 1 6th, the duke, by forced marches, came up with 
the rebels, a little on this side Inverness, — by the way, the 
battle is not christened yet ; I only know that neither Pres- 
tonpans nor Falkirk are to be godfathers. The rebels, who 
had fled from him after their victory and durst not attack him, 
when so much exposed to them at his passage of the Spey, 
now stood him, they seven thousand, he ten. They broke 
through Barril's regiment, and killed Lord Robert Kerr, a 
handsome young gentleman, who was cut to pieces with above 
thirty wounds; but they were soon repulsed, and fled, the 
whole engagement not lasting above a quarter of an hour. 
The Young Pretender escaped ; Mr. Conway says he hears, 
wounded : he certainly was in the rear. They have lost above 
a thousand men in the engagement and pursuit ; and six hun- 
dred were already taken, among which latter are their French 
ambassador and Earl Kilmarnock. The duke of Perth and 
Lord Ogilvie are said to be slain ; Lord Elcho was in a saliva- 
tion, and not there. Except Lord Robert Kerr, we lost nobody 
of note : Sir Robert Rich's eldest son has lost his hand, and 
about a hundred and thirty private men fell. The defeat is 
reckoned total, and the dispersion general ; and all their artil- 
lery is taken. It is a brave young duke ! The town is all blaz- 
ing round me, as I write, with fireworks and illuminations. 



The following extracts from Wesley's diary, during 
the years 1738- 1760, are illustrative of his character 
and w^ork. 



355. Extracts 
from the 
diary of John 
Wesley 
May, 1738 

September, 
1738 



Sun. 7. I preached at St. Lawrence's in the morning and 
afterwards at St. Katherine Cree's Church. I was enabled to 
speak strong words at both; and was therefore the less sur- 
prised at being informed, I was not to preach any more in 
either of those churches. 

Sun. 14. I preached in the morning at St. Ann's, Alders- 
gate ; and in the afternoon at the Savoy Chapel, free salvation 
by faith in the blood of Christ. I was quickly apprised that 
at St. Ann's, likewise, I am to preach no more. 



Fotmdation of the British Empire 585 

Sun., September 17. I began again to declare in my own 
country the glad tidings of salvation, preaching three times, 
and afterwards expounding the holy scripture, to a large com- 
pany in the Minories. On Monday I rejoiced to meet with our 
little society, which now consisted of thirty-two persons. 

The next day I went to the condemned felons, in Newgate, 
and offered them free salvation. In the evening I went to a 
society in Bear Yard, and preached repentance and remission 
of sins. The next evening I spoke the truth in love at a society 
in Aldersgate Street : some contradicted at first, but not long; 
so that nothing but love appeared at our parting. 

Thur. 29. I left London, and in the evening expounded to March, 1739 
a small company at Basingstoke. Saturday, 31. In the evening 
I reached Bristol and met Mr. Whitefield there. I could scarce 
reconcile myself at first to this strange way of preaching in the Field preach- 
fields, of which he set me an example on Sunday ; having been "^s; 
all my life, till very lately, so tenacious of every point relating 
to decency and order, that I should have thought the saving of 
souls almost a sin, if it had not been done in a church. 

Sun. 13. My ordinary employment, in public, was now as May 13 
follows : Every morning I read prayers and preached at New- 
gate. Every evening I expounded a portion of scripture at 
one or more of the societies. On Monday, in the afternoon, 
I preached abroad, near Bristol ; on Tuesday, at Bath and Preaching in 
Two Mile Hill alternately; o'n Wednesday, at Baptist Mills; and about 
every other Thursday, near Pensford ; every other Friday, in 
another part of Kingswood ; on Saturday in the afternoon, and 
Sunday morning, in the Bowling-green (which lies near the 
middle of the city) ; on Sundays at eleven, near Hannam- 
mount ; at two, at Clifton ; and at five, on Rose-green. And 
hitherto, as my days, so my strength hath been. 

Sun. 20. Seeing many of the rich at Clifton Church, my 
heart was much pained for them, and I was earnestly desirous 
that some even of them might " enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." But full as I was, I knew not where to begin in 
warning them to flee from the wrath to come till my Testa- 
ment opened on these words : " I came not to call the right- 
eous, but sinners to repentance " ; in applying which my soul 



586 



Readings in English History 



was so enlarged that methought I could have cried out (in 
another sense than poor vain Archimedes), " Give me where 
to stand, and I will shake the earth." God's sending forth 
lightning with the rain did not hinder about fifteen hundred 
from staying at Rose-green. Our scripture was : " It is the 
glorious God that maketh the thunder. The voice of the Lord 
is mighty in operation ; the voice of the Lord is a glorious 
voice." In the evening he spoke to three whose souls were all 
storm and tempest, and immediately there was a great calm. 

Sun. 9. I declared to about ten thousand, in Moorfields, 
what they must do to be saved. My mother went with us, 
about five, to Kennington, where were supposed to be twenty 
thousand people. I again insisted on that foundation of all 
our hope, " Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be 
saved." From Kennington I went to a society at Lambeth. 
The house being filled, the rest stood in the garden. The 
deep attention they showed gave me a hope that they will 
not all be forgetful hearers. 

Sun. 16. I preached at Moorfields to about ten thousand, 
and at Kennington Common to, I believe, near twenty thousand, 
on those words of the calmer Jews to St. Paul, " We desire to 
hear of thee what thou thinkest ; for as concerning this sect, 
we know that everywhere it is spoken against." At both places 
I described the real difference between what is generally called 
Christianity and the true old Christianity, which, under the new 
name of Methodism, is now also everywhere spoken against. 

Sun. 28. I preached once more at Bradford, at one in the 
afternoon. The violent rains did not hinder more, I believe, 
than ten thousand from earnestly attending to what I spoke on 
those solemn words : " I take you to record this day that I am 
pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to 
declare unto you all the counsel of God." 

Returning in the evening, I called at Mrs. J-s', in Kings- 
wood. S-h J-s and L-y C-r were there. It was scarce a quarter 
of an hour before L-y C-r fell into a strange agony ; and pres- 
ently after, S-h J-s. The violent convulsions all over their 
bodies were such as words cannot describe. Their cries and 
groans were too horrid to be borne, till one of them, in a tone 



Foundation of the British Empire 587 

not to be expressed, said, " Where is your faith now? Come, 
go to prayers. I will pray with you. ' Our Father, which art in 
heaven.' " VVe took the advice, from whomsoever it came, and 
poured out our souls before God, till L-y C-r's agonies so 
increased that it seemed she was in the pangs of death. But 
in a moment God spoke : she knew his voice ; and both her 
body and soul were healed. 

We continued in prayer till near one, when S-h J-s' voice 
was also changed, and she began strongly to call upon God. 
This she did for the greatest part of the night. In the morn- 
ing we renewed our prayers, while she was crying continually, 
"I burn ! I burn! O what shall I do? I have a fire within 
me. I cannot bear it. Lord Jesus ! Help ! " Amen, Lord 
Jesus ! when thy time is come. 

Sun., Sept. 14. As I returned home in the evening, I had September 14, 
no sooner stepped out of the coach than the mob, who were '74° 
gathered in great numbers about my door, quite closed me in. 
I rejoiced and blessed God, knowing this was the time I had 
long been looking for ; and immediately spake to those that 
were next me of "righteousness, and judgment to come." At 
first not many heard, the ijoise round about us being exceed- 
ing great. But the silence spread farther and farther, till I had 
a quiet, attentive congregation ; and when I left them, they 
showed much love, and dismissed me with many blessings. 

Sun. 28. I began expounding the Sermon on the Mount, 
at London. In the afternoon I described to a numerous con- 
gregation at Kennington the life of God in the soul. One 
person who stood on the mount made a little noise at first ; 
but a gentleman, whom I knew not, walked up to him, and 
without saying one word, mildly took him by the hand and led 
him down. From that time he was quiet till he went away. 

When I came home I found an innumerable mob round 
the door, who opened all their throats the moment they saw 
me. I desired my friends to go into the house ; and then 
walking into the midst of the people, proclaimed, " the name 
of the Lord, gracious and merciful, and repenting him of the 
evil." They stood staring one at another. I told them they 
could not flee from the face of this great God : and therefore 



588 



Readings in Ejiglish History 



August 28, 
1748 



In Ireland, 
June 10, 
1760 



besought them, that we might all join together in crying to 
him for mercy. To this they readily agreed : I then com- 
mended them to his grace, and went undisturbed to the little 
company within. 

Sun. 28. I was invited by Mr. U., the minister of Good- 
shaw, to preach in his church. I began reading prayers at 
seven ; but perceiving the church would scarce contain half 
of the congregation, after prayers I went out, and standing on 
the churchyard wall, in a place shaded from the sun, explained 
and enforced those words in the second lesson, " Almost thou 
persuadest me to be a Christian." 

I wonder at those who still talk so loud of the indecency of 
field preaching. The highest indecency is in St. Paul's Church, 
when a considerable part of the congregation are asleep, or 
talking, or looking about, not minding a word the preacher 
says. On the other hand, there is the highest decency in a 
churchyard or field, when the whole congregation behave and 
look as if they saw the Judge of all, and heard him speaking 
from heaven. 

Tues., June 10. I rode to Drumersnave, a village delight- 
fully situated. At noon William Ley, James Glasbrook, and I 
rode to Carrick-upon-Shannon. In less than an hour, an es- 
quire and justice of the peace came down with a drum and 
what mob he could gather. I went into the garden with the 
congregation, while he was making a speech to his followers 
in the street. He then attacked William Ley (who stood at the 
door), being armed with an halbert and long sword ; and ran 
at him with the halbert, but missing his thrust he then struck 
at him, and broke it short upon his wrist. Having made his 
way through the house to the other door, he was at a full stop. 
James Glasbrook held it fast on the other side. While he was 
endeavoring to force it open, one told him I was preaching 
in the garden. On this he quitted the door in haste, ran round 
the house, and, with part of his retinue, climbed over the wall 
into the garden ; and with a whole volley of oaths and curses 
declared, "You shall not preach here to-day." I told him, 
" Sir, I do not intend it, for I have preached already." This 
made him ready to tear the ground. Finding he was not to be 



Foimdation of the British Empire 589 

reasoned with, I went into the house. Soon after he revenged 
himself on James Glasbrook, by breaking the truncheon of his 
halbert on his arm, and on my hat, which he beat and kicked 
most valiantly ; but a gentleman rescued it out of his hands, 
and we rode quietly out of the town. 

A somewhat unsympathetic view of Wesley is ex- 
pressed in the following letter from Horace Walpole to 
a friend, recounting his observations at a service and 
sermon by Wesley in the Methodist chapel in Bath. 

I am impatient to hear that your charity to me has not 356. Horace 

ended in the gout to yourself — all my comfort is, if you have W^'poi^ to 
, 1 T 1 T. Jolin Chute 

It, that you have good Lady Brown to nurse you. (Bath Octo- 

My health advances faster than my amusement. However, ber 10, 1766) 

I have been at one opera, Mr. Wesley's. They have boys and 

girls with charming voices, that sing hymns, in parts, to Scotch 

ballad tunes, but indeed so long that one would think they 

were already in eternity and knew how much time they had 

before them. The chapel is very neat, with true Gothic 

windows (yet I am not converted) ; but I was glad to see that 

luxury is creeping in upon them before persecution : they 

have very neat mahogany stands for branches, and brackets 

of the same in taste. At the upper end is a broad hautpas 

of four steps, advancing in the middle : at each end of the 

broadest part are two of my eagles, with red cushions for the 

parson and clerk. Behind them rise three more steps, in 

the midst of which is a third eagle for pulpit — scarlet-armed 

chairs to all three. On either hand, a balcony for elect ladies. 

The rest of the congregation sit on forms. Behind the pit, in 

a dark niche, is a plain table within rails ; so you see the throne 

is for the apostle. Wesley is a lean, elderly man, fresh-colored, 

his hair smoothly combed, but with a soupt^on of curl at the 

ends. Wondrous clean, but as evidently an actor as Garrick. 

He spoke his sermon, but so fast, and with so little accent, that 

I am sure he has often uttered it, for it was like a lesson. 

There were parts and eloquence in it ; but towards the end 

he exalted his voice, and acted very ugly enthusiasm ; decried 



590 Readings in English History 

learning, and told stories, like Latimer, of the fool of his col- 
lege, who said, " I thanks God for everything." Except a few 
from curiosity, and " some honorable women," the congrega- 
tion was very mean. There was a Scotch countess of Buchan, 
who is carrying a pure, rosy, vulgar face to heaven, and who 
asked Miss Rich, if that was the " author of the poets." I 
believe she meant me and the " Noble Authors." 

The Bedfords came last night. Lord Chatham was with me 
yesterday two hours ; looks and walks well, and is in excellent 
political spirits. 

V. The Growth of Imperial Interests 

The broadening of the interests of England till she 
became the mistress and center of a world-wide empire 
was in progress through the whole of the period covered 
by this chapter, but it became still more clearly marked 
just at the end of the period. The following extracts 
will serve to illustrate some steps in England's relations 
with the most distant portions of her growing dominion, 
India and America. The first passage is taken from a 
contemporary narrative of English experiences in India. 

The principal officer [of the Nabob] commanded the [Eng- 
lish] prisoners to go into one of the rooms which stood behind 
them along the veranda. It was the common dungeon of the 
garrison, who used to call it the " Black Hole." Many of the 
prisoners, knowing the place, began to expostulate : upon 
which the officer ordered his men to cut down those who hesi- 
tated ; on w^hich the prisoners obeyed. But before all were 
within, the room was so thronged that the last entered with 
difficulty. The guard immediately closed and locked the door, 
confining 146 persons in a room not 20 feet square, with only 
two small windows, and these obstructed by the veranda. 

It was the hottest season of the year ; and the night un- 
commonly sultry even at this season. The excessive pressure 
of their bodies against one another, and the intolerable heat 



Foundation of tJie British Empire 591 

which prevailed as soon as the door was shut, convinced the pris- 
oners that it was impossible to live through the night with this 
horrible confinement ; and violent attempts were immediately 
made to force the door, but without effect, for it opened in- 
ward : on which many began to give a loose to rage. . . . 

Before midnight, all w^ho were alive and had not partaken 
of the air at the windows, were in a lethargic stupefaction or 
raving with delirium. Every kind of invective and abuse was 
uttered, in hopes of provoking the guard to put an end to 
their miseries by firing into the dungeon ; and whilst some 
were blaspheming their creator with the frantic execrations 
of torment in despair, heaven was implored by others with 
wild and incoherent prayers ; until the weaker, exhausted by 
these agitations, at length lay down quietly and expired on 
the bodies of their dead or agonizing friends. Those who still 
survived in the inward part of the dungeon, finding that the 
water had afforded them no relief, made a last effort to obtain 
air, by endeavouring to scramble over the heads of those who 
stood between them and the windows ; where the utmost 
strength of every one was employed for two hours, either in 
maintaining his own ground or in endeavouring to get that of 
which others were in possession. All regards of compassion 
and affection were lost, and no one would recede or give way 
for the relief of another. Faintness sometimes gave short 
pauses of quiet, but the first motion of any one renewed the 
struggle through all, under which ever and anon some one 
sunk to rise no more. At two o'clock not more than fifty 
remained alive. But even this number were too many to par- 
take of the saving air, the contest for which and life continued 
until the morn, long implored, began to break, and, with the 
hope of relief, gave the few survivors a view of the dead. . . . 

An officer, sent by the Nabob, came and enquired if the The release 
English chief survived ; and soon after the same man returned '" '^'^^ 

. , . , • rr^i J J I 1 morning 

With an order to open the prison. 1 he dead were so thronged, 
and the survivors had so little strength remaining, that they 
were employed near half an hour in removing the bodies which 
lay against the door, before they could clear a passage to get 
out one at a time ; when of one hundred and forty-six who 



592 



Readings in English History 



358. Treaty 
between 
Meer Jaffier 
and Colonel 
Clive, Admi- 
ral Watson, 
and other 
Englishmen 
(1756) 



Tlie French 
expelled from 
Bengal, Be- 
har, and 
Orissa and 
their posses- 
sions handed 
over to the 
English East 
India Com- 
pany 



went in, no more than twenty-three were seen alive. The 
Nabob's troops beheld them and the havock of death from 
which they had escaped with indiflference ; but did not pre- 
vent them from removing to a distance, and were immediately 
obliged by the intolerable stench to clear the dungeon, whilst 
others dug a ditch on the outside of the fort into which all the 
dead bodies were promiscuously thrown. 

The small English force that arrived soon afterward 
to rescue their fellow-countrymen and restore the settle- 
ment found it necessary, in order to reach these ends, 
to enter into, a secret treaty with Meer Jafifier, a dis- 
satisfied general of the Nabob. The English were to 
assist him to obtain his master's throne and in return 
were to receive from him recompense for their losses, 
an extension of their privileges, and the expulsion of 
their French rivals from the country. The treaty is 
here given and will serve to show one of the ways in 
which a few hundred or thousand Englishmen gradu- 
ally gained control over millions of native Indians. 

Article I. Whatever articles were agreed to in the time of 
peace with the Nabob Surajah Dowlah, I agree to comply with. 
II. The enemies of the English shall be my enemies, whether 
they be Indians or Europeans. III. All the effects and facto- 
ries belonging to the French in the province of Bengal, the 
paradise of nations, and Behar, and Orissa, shall remain in 
the possession of the English, nor will I ever allow the French 
any more to settle in the three provinces. IV. In considera- 
tion of the losses which the English company has sustained 
by the capture and plunder of Calcutta by the Nabob, and the 
charges occasioned by the maintenance of the forces, I will 
give them one crore of rupees. V. For the effects plundered 
from the English inhabitants of Calcutta, I will give the sum 
of seven lacs of rupees. The distribution of the sums allotted 
to the English, Gentoo, Moor, and other inhabitants of Cal- 
cutta shall be left to Admiral Watson, Colonel Clive, Roger 



Foundation of the British Empire 593 

Drake, William Watts, James Kilpatrick, and Richard Becker, 

esquires, to be disposed of by them to whom they think proper. 

. . . VIII. Within the ditch which surrounds the borders of 

Calcutta are tracts of land belonging to several Zemindars : 

besides these, I will grant to the English company 600 yards 

without the ditch. IX. All the land lying south of Calcutta, 

as far as Culpee, shall be under the Zemindary of the English 

company ; and all the ol^cers of these parts shall be under 

their jurisdiction, the revenues to be paid by the company in 

the same manner as other Zemindars. X. Whenever I demand The Eno-lish 

the assistance of the English, I will be at the charge of the Company 

^ , . ,^^ ^ ... made Zemin- 

manitenance of their troops. XI. I will not erect any new ^j^^ or tax 
fortifications near the river Ganges, below Hughley. XII. As collector, of a 
soon as I am established in the three provinces the aforesaid ^"^^^ istnct 
sums shall be faithfully paid. Dated the 15 th of the month of 
Ramadan in the fourth year of the present reign. 

I swear by God and the Prophet of God to abide by the 
terms of this treaty whilst I have life. 

At almost the same time as the occurrences just 
described in India the dispute between England and 
France for the country west of the Allegheny Moun- 
tains was becoming acute. The following passage con- 
sists of some notes made in the French council of 
ministers in the year 1752, in which the unquestioned 
right of France to the country drained by the Missis- 
sippi and its great branches, especially the Ohio, was 
clearly asserted. 

It appears from a letter of the Marquis de la Jonquiere, 359. Minutes 

that the efforts the English are making, and the expenses of ^ council 
, . , T 1- -1 of the minis- 

they incur to gain over the Indians, are not without success ters of the 

among several nations. French gov- 

Information has been received last year of the progress f^^f°* 

they had already made among the Indians in the environs of 

the river Ohio, where they have undertaken, since the peace, 

to form some establishments. 



594 



Readmgs in E?iglish History 



French claim 
to the coun- 
try along the 
Ohio based 
on discovery, 
occupation, 
and posses- 
sion 



Dangers from 
the English 



The Marquis de la Jonquiere had rendered an account of a 
plan he had prepared both to drive the English from that river 
and to chastise the Indians who allowed themselves to be 
gained over. . . . But all the consequent operations reduce 
themselves to the seizure of some English traders with their 
goods, and to the murder of two Indians of the Miami nation. 

The seizure of the English traders whose effects have been 
confiscated and even plundered by our Indians cannot but 
produce a good effect by disgusting the other traders of that 
nation. . . . 

The English may pretend that we are bound by the Treaty 
of Utrecht to permit the Indians to trade with them. But it 
is certain that nothing can oblige us to suffer this trade on 
our territory. 

Accordingly in all the alliances of quasi treaties or propo- 
sitions we have had with the Fair Indians, we have never 
obliged them expressly to renounce going to the English to 
trade ; we have merely exhorted them to that effect, and 
never did we oppose that treaty by force. 

The river Ohio, otherwise called the Beautiful River, and 
its tributaries belong indisputably to France, by virtue of its 
discovery by Sieur de la Salle, of the trading posts the French 
have had there since, and of possession, which is so much the 
more unquestionable as it constitutes the most frequent com- 
munication from Canada to Louisiana. It is only within a few 
years that the English have undertaken to trade there and 
now they pretend to exclude us from it. 

They have not, up to the present time, however, maintained 
that these rivers belong to them ; they pretend only that the 
Iroquois are masters of them, and, being the sovereigns of 
these Indians, that they can exercise their rights. But 't is 
certain that these Indians have none, and that, besides, the 
pretended sovereignty of the English over them is a chimera. 

Meanwhile it is of the greatest importance to arrest the 
progress of the pretensions and expeditions of the English in 
that quarter. Should they succeed there, they would cut off 
the communication between the two colonies of Canada and 
Louisiana, and would be in a position to trouble them and to 



Foundation of the British Empire 595 

ruin both the one and the other, mdependent of the advan- 
tages they would at once experience in their trade to the 
prejudice of ours. 

The English claim was just as determined, as is 
shown in the following extract from orders sent by the 
English government in the year 1753 to the governors 
of the American colonies, commanding them to be on 
their guard against the intrusion of the French upon 
lands claimed to be under England, and to repel any 
such intrusion. 

His Majesty having received information of the march of 360. Instruc- 

a considerable number of Indians not in alliance with the !l°°t,*'^°'", 

IT- • 1 • ^^^ English 

king, supported by some regular European troops, mtendmg, ministry to 

as it is apprehended, to commit some hostilities on parts of American 
his Majesty's dominions in America, I have the king's com- PZ,!.^x°°^^ 
mands to send you this intelligence, and to direct you to use 
your utmost diligence to learn how far the same may be well 
grounded, and to put you upon your guard, that you may, at 
all events, be in a condition to resist any hostile attempts that 
may be made upon any parts of his Majesty's dominions with- 
in your government ; and to direct you in the king's name, 
that in case the subjects of any foreign prince or state should 
presume to make any encroachment on the limits of his 
Majesty's dominions, or to erect forts on his Majesty's land, 
or commit any other act of hostility, you are immediately to 
represent the injustice of such proceeding, and to require 
them forthwith to desist from any such unlawful undertaking ; 
but if notwithstanding your requisition they should still per- 
sist, you are then to draw forth the armed force of the prov- 
ince, and to use your best endeavors to repel them by force. 

Braddock's defeat, which soon followed, is described 
from the French side in the following passage : 

M. de Contrecoeur, captain of infantry, commandant of 
Fort Duquesne, on the Ohio, having been informed that the 



596 



ReadtJigs in English History 



361. Aeon- 
temporary 
French ac- 
count of 
Braddock's 
defeat 



English were taking up arms in Virginia for the purpose of 
coming to attack him, was advised, shortly afterwards, that 
they were on the march. He dispatched scouts, who reported 
to him faithfully their progress. On the 17th instant he was 
advised that their army, consisting of 3000 regulars from Old 
England, were within six leagues of this fort. That officer em- 
ployed the next day in making his arrangements ; and on the 
ninth detached M. de Beaujeu, seconded by M. Dumas and 
M. de Lignery, all three captains, together with 4 lieutenants, 
6 ensigns, 20 cadets, 100 soldiers, 100 Canadians, and 600 
Indians, with orders to lie in ambush at a favorable spot, 
which he had reconnoitered the previous evening. 

The detachment, before it could reach its place of destina- 
tion, found itself in presence of the enemy within three leagues 
of that fort. M. de Beaujeu, finding his ambush had failed, 
decided on an attack. This he made with so much vigor as 
to astonish the enemy, who were waiting for us in the best 
possible order ; but their artillery, loaded with grape, having 
opened its fire, our men gave way in turn. The Indians, also, 
frightened by the report of the cannon rather than by any 
damage it could inflict, began to yield, when M. de Beaujeu 
was killed. M. Dumas began to encourage his detachment. 
He ordered the officers in command of the Indians to spread 
themselves along the wings so as to take the enemy in the 
flank, whilst he, M. de Lignery, and the other officers who 
led the French, were attacking them in front. This order 
was executed so promptly that the enemy, who were already 
shouting their " Long live the King," thought now only of 
defending themselves. The fight was obstinate on both 
sides and success long doubtful, but the enemy at last gave 
way. . . . 



The following letter from General Wolfe to Mr. Pitt, 
written from before Quebec but eleven days before the 
battle which resulted in the capture of that city and 
the death of the general, will show how near to failure 
the expedition had come, how desperate the chances 



Foimdatioii of the British Empire 597 

taken in the attack, and how doubtful to all appearance 
was the outcome of the struggle between England and 
France in America. 

The admiral and I have examined the town, with a view to 362. Wolfe to 
a general assault ; but, after consulting with the chief engineer, ^^** o°°h''^' 
who is well acquainted with the interior parts of it, and, after (September 
viewing it with the utmost attention, we foiuid that though the 2, 1759) 
batteries of the lower town might be easily silenced by the men- 
of-war, yet the business of an assault would be little advanced 
by that, since the few passages that lead from the upper to the 
lower town are carefully intrenched; and the upper batteries 
cannot be affected by. the ships, which must receive' consider- 
able damage from them, and from the mortars. The admiral 
would readily join in this, or in any other measure for the 
public service, but I could not propose to him an undertaking 
of so dangerous a nature, and promising so little success. 

To the uncommon strength of the country the enemy have 
added, for the defense of the river, a great number of floating 
batteries and boats. By the vigilance of these, and the Indians 
round our different posts, it has been impossible to execute 
anything by surprise. We have had almost daily skirmishes 
with these savages, in which they are generally defeated, but 
not without loss on our side. 

By the list of disabled officers, many of whom are of rank, 
you may perceive, sir, that the army is much weakened. By 
the nature of the river the most formidable part of this arma- 
ment is deprived of the power of acting, yet we have almost 
the whole force of Canada to oppose. In this situation there 
is such a choice of difficulties that I own myself at a loss how 
to determine. The affairs of Great Britain, I know, require 
the most vigorous measures ; but then the courage of a hand- 
ful of brave men should be exerted only where there is some 
hope of a favorable event. However, you may be assured, sir, 
that the small part of the campaign which remains shall be 
employed, as far as I am able, for the honor of his Majesty 
and the interest of the nation, in which I am sure of being 
well seconded by the admiral and by the generals. Happy if 



598 



Readings in English History 



our efforts here can contribute to the success of his Majesty's 

arms in any other parts of America ! I have the honor to be, 

sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, 

J. Wolfe. 

The following account is taken from the Historical 
Journal of Captain John Knox, who took part in the 
battle he describes. His Journal was published in 
London in 1769. 

Before daybreak this morning we made a descent upon the 
north shore, about half a quarter of a mile to the eastward of 
Sillery, and the light troops were fortunately, by the rapidity 
of the current, carried lower down, between us and Cape 
Diamond ; we had, in this debarkation, thirty flat-bottomed 
boats, containing about sixteen hundred men. This was a 
great surprise on the enemy, who, from the natural strength 
of the place, did not suspect, and consequently were not pre- 
pared against, so bold an attempt. The chain of sentries, 
which they had posted along the summit of the heights, galled 
us a little, and picked off several men, and some officers, before 
our light infantry got up to dislodge them. 

This grand enterprise was conducted and executed with 
great good order and discretion ; as fast as we landed, the 
boats put off for reenforcements, and the troops formed with 
much regularity : the general, with Brigadiers Monckton and 
Murray, were ashore with the first division. We lost no time 
here, but clambered up one of the steepest precipices that can 
be conceived, being almost a perpendicular, and of an incredi- 
ble height. As soon as we gained the summit all was quiet, 
and not a shot was heard, owing to the excellent conduct of 
the light infantry under Colonel Howe ; it was by this time 
clear daylight. Here we formed again, the river and the south 
country in our rear, our right extending to the town, our left to 
Sillery, and halted a few minutes. The general then detached 
the light troops to our left to rout the enemy from their battery, 
and to disable their guns, except they could be rendered serv- 
iceable to the party who were to remain there ; and this service 
was soon performed. We then faced to the right, and marched 



Foundation of the Btitish Empire 599 

towards the town by files, till we came to the Plains of Abraham : 
an even piece of ground which Mr. Wolfe had made choice of, 
while we stood forming upon the hill. Weather showery ; about 
six o'clock the enemy first made their appearance upon the 
heights, between us and the town ; whereupon we halted, and 
wheeled to the right, thereby forming the line of battle. 

About eight o'clock we had two pieces of short brass six- Battle on the 
pounders playing on the enemy, which threw them into some ^}^^J °^ 
confusion, and obliged them to alter their disposition, and 
Montcalm formed them into three large columns ; about nine 
the two armies moved a little nearer each other. The light 
cavalry made a faint attempt upon our parties at the battery 
of Sillery, but were soon beat off, and Monsieur de Bougain- 
ville, with his troops from Cape Rouge, came down to attack 
the flank of our second line, hoping to penetrate there; but, 
by a masterly disposition of Brigadier Townshend, they were 
forced to desist, and the third battalion of Royal Americans 
was then detached to the first ground we had formed on after 
we gained the heights, to preserve the communication with 
the beach and our boats. 

About ten o'clock the enemy began to advance briskly in Defeat of the 
three columns, with loud shouts and recovered arms, two of ^''^"'^^ 
them inclining to the left of our army, and the third towards 
our right, firing obliquely at the two extremities of our line, 
from the distance of one hundred and thirty, until they came 
within forty, yards ; which our troops withstood with the greatest 
intrepidity and firmness, still reserving their fire, and paying 
the strictest obedience to their officers. This uncommon stead- 
iness, together with the havoc which the grapeshot from our 
fieldpieces made among them, threw them into some disorder, 
and was most critically maintained by a well-timed, regular, 
and heavy discharge of our small arms, such as they could no 
longer oppose. Hereupon they gave way, and fled with precip- 
itation, so that, by the time the cloud of smoke was vanished, 
our men were again loaded, and, profiting by the advantage we 
had over them, pursued them almost to the gates of the town 
and the bridge over the little river, redoubling our fire with 
great eagerness, making many officers and men prisoners. . . . 



6oo J^tti(/tfii^s in English History 

Our joy at this success is inexpressibly damped by the loss 
we sustained of one of the greatest heroes which this or anv 
other age can boast of, — (.General James Wolfe, who received 
his mortal wound as he was exerting himself at the lu\id oi 
the grenadiers of Louisbourg. 
Death of ... The Sieur de Montcalm died late last night : when his 
Montcilni ^y^^^^^^j ^y.^g dressed, and he settled in bed, the surgeons who 
attended him were desired to acquaint him ingeiuiously with 
their sentiments of him, and being answered that his wound 
was mortal, he calmly replied that he was glad of it. His excel- 
lency then demanded whether he could sur\ive it long, and 
how long. He was told, " about a dozen hours, perhaps more, 
peradventure less." "So much the better," rejoined this emi- 
nent warrior ; " I am happy I shall not live to see the surrender 
of Quebec." . . . 
Death of After our late worthy general, of renowned memory, was 
Wolfe carried ofif wounded to the rear of the front line, he desired 
those who were aK^ut him to lay him down ; being asked if he 
would have a surgeon he replied, '• It is needless ; it is all over 
with me." One of them crie<.i out, " They run, see how they 
run !" "Who runs? " demanded our hero with great earnest- 
ness, like a person aroused from sleep. The officer answered, 
"The enemy, sir; egad, they give way everywhere." There- 
upon the general rejoined, " tio one of you, my lads, to Colonel 
Burton ; tell him to march Webb's regiment with all speed 
down to Charles's river, to cut off the retreat of the fugitives 
from the bridge." Then, turning on his side, he added, " Now, 
God be praised, I will die in peace"; and thus expired. . . . 

The following extracts from the journal of Captain 
Cook must serve to represent a wide series of explora- 
tions that were taking place during this period. The spe- 
cial interest of these passages is that they describe the 
portion of the coast of Australia, or New Holland as it 
was then called, which was soon afterward chosen as a 
suitable place on which to establish a penal colony, and 
which later became the center of the great commonwealth 



Foundation of the IWitish Empire 6o i 

fjf Australia. Captain Cook, of course, saw only the coast, 
and his descriptions do not apply to the inland regions. 

As 1 was now about to quit the eastern coast of New Holland, 364. Extracts 

which 1 had coasted from latitude ^8° to this place, and which *''^™ *''^, 
/•I T- 1 J I r T journal of 

I am confident no European had ever seen before, I once captain 

more hoisted the English colors, and though I had already James Cook 
taken possession of several particular parts, I now took posses- 
sion of the whole eastern coast, from latitude 38° to this place, 
latitude \o\° south, in right of his Majesty King George III, 
by the name of New South Wales, with all the bays, harbors, 
rivers, and islands situated upon it : we then fired three volleys 
of small arms, which were answered by the same number from 
the ship. Having performed this ceremony upon the island, 
we called it Possession Island. . . . 

New Holland, or, as I have now called the eastern coast. New South 
New South Wales, is of a larger extent than any other country ^^^^^^ 
in the known world that does not bear the name of a conti- 
nent ; the length of coast along which we sailed, reduced to a 
straight line, is no less than twenty-seven degrees of latitude, 
amounting to near 2000 miles, so that its square surface must 
be much more than effual to all Europe. To the southward of 
33° or 34° the land in general is low and level ; farther north- 
ward it is hilly, but in no part can be called mountainous ; 
and the hills and mountains, taken together, make but a small 
part of the surface, in comparison with the valleys and plains. 
It is, upon the whole, rather barren than fertile, yet the rising 
ground is chequered by woods and lawns, and the plains and 
valleys are, in many places, covered with herbage : the soil, 
however, is frequently sandy, and many of the lawns, or savan- 
nahs, are rocky and barren, especially to the northward, where, 
in the best spots, vegetation was less vigorous than in the 
southern part of the country ; the trees were not so tall, nor 
was the herbage so rich. The grass in general is high, but 
thin, and the trees, where they are largest, are seldom less 
than fifty feet asunder ; nor is the country inland, as far as we 
could examine it, better clothed than the sea coast. The banks 
of the bays are covered with mangroves to a distance of a mile 



6o2 Readings in English History 

within the beach, under which the soil is a rank mud that is 
always overflowed by a spring-tide ; farther in the country we 
sometimes met with a bog, upon which the grass was very thick 
and luxuriant, and sometimes with a valley that was clothed 
. with underwood : the soil in some parts seemed to be capable 
of improvement, but the far greater part is such as can admit 
of no cultivation. The coast, at least that part of it which lies 
to the northward of 25° south, abounds with fine bays and har- 
bors, where vessels may lie in perfect security from all winds. 
If we may judge by the appearance of the country while we 
were there, which was in the very heighth of the dry season, 
it is well watered : we found innumerable small brooks and 
springs, but no great rivers ; these brooks, however, probably 
become large in the rainy season. Thirsty Sound was the only 
place where fresh water was not to be procured for the ship, 
and even there one or two small pools were found in the woods, 
though the face of the country was everywhere intersected by 
salt creeks and mangrove land. . . . 
The native The Only tribe with which we had any intercourse we found 
Australians ^yhgig thg ship was Careened : it consisted of one and twenty 
persons — twelve men, seven women, one boy, and one girl: 
the women we never saw but at a distance, for when the men 
came over the river they were always left behind. The men, 
here and in other places, were of middle size, and in general 
well made, clean limbed, and remarkably vigorous, active, and 
nimble ; their countenances were not altogether without ex- 
pression, and their voices were remarkably soft and effeminate. 
Their skins were so uniformly covered with dirt that it was 
very difficult to ascertain their true color : we made several 
attempts, by wetting our fingers and rubbing it, to remove the 
incrustations, but with very little effect. With the dirt they 
appear nearly as black as a negro, and according to our best 
discoveries, the skin itself is the color of wood soot, or what is 
commonly called a chocolate color. Their features are far from 
being disagreeable ; their noses are not flat, nor are their lips 
thick ; their teeth are white and even, and their hair naturally 
long and black ; it is, however, universally cropped short ; in 
general it is straight, but sometimes it has a slight curl ; we saw 



Foundation of the British Empire 603 

none that was not matted and filthy, though without oil or grease, 
and to our great astonishment free from lice. Their beards 
were of the same color with their hair, and bushy and thick; 
they are not, however, suffered to grow long. A man whom we 
had seen one day with his beard somewhat longer than his 
companions, we saw the next with it somewhat shorter, and 
upon examination found the ends of the hairs burnt. From 
this incident, and our having never seen any sharp instrument 
among them, we concluded that both the hair and the beard 
were kept short by singeing them. 

They appeared to have no fixed habitations, for we saw Native houses 
nothing like a town or village in the whole country. Their 
houses, if houses they may be called, seemed to be formed with 
less art and industry than any we had seen, except the wretched 
hovels at Tierra del Fuego, and in some respects they are in- 
ferior even to them. At Botany Bay, where they were best, 
they were just high enough for a man to sit upright in, but not 
large enough for him to extend himself in his whole length in 
any direction. They are built with pliable rods about as thick 
as a man's finger, in the form of an oven, by sticking the two 
ends into the ground, and then covering them with palm leaves 
and broad pieces of bark. The door is nothing but a large hole 
at one end, opposite to which the fire is made, as we perceived 
by the ashes. Under these houses, or sheds, they sleep, coiled 
up with their heels to their head, and in this position one of 
them will hold three or four persons. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 
FRENCH REVOLUTION, 1 763-1 815 

I. George III and the New Ministry 

The following account of George III was written in 
1758, two years before he became king. It is by Lord 
Waldegrave, an official at the court, who had abundant 
opportunity for observation. 

365. A per- The Prince of Wales is entering into his twenty-first year, 

sonaidescrip- ^nd it would be unfair to decide upon his character in the early 
George III in Stages of life, when there is so much time for improvement. 
1758 His parts, though not excellent, will be found very toler- 

able, if ever they are properly exercised. He is strictly honest, 
but wants that frank and open behavior which makes honesty 
appear amiable. When he had a very scanty allowance, it 
was one of his favorite maxims that men should be just before 
they are generous : his income is now very considerably aug- 
mented, but his generosity has not increased in equal pro- 
portion. His religion is free from hypocrisy, but is not of 
the most charitable sort ; he has rather too much attention to 
the sins of his neighbor. 

He has spirit, but not of the active kind ; and does not 
want resolution, but it is mixed with too much obstinacy. 
He has great command of his passions, and will seldom do 
wrong, except when he mistakes wrong for right ; but as often 
as this shall happen, it will be difficult to undeceive him, be- 
cause he is uncommonly indolent and has strong prejudices. 

His want of application and aversion to business would be 
far less dangerous, was he eager in the pursuit of pleasure ; 

604 



Industrial, Ainerican, and French Revolutions 605 

for the transition from pleasure to business is both shorter and 
easier than from a state of total inaction. 

He has a kind of unhappiness in his temper which, if it 
be not conquered before it has taken too deep a root, will be 
a source of frequent anxiety. Whenever he is displeased, his 
anger does not break out with heat and violence, but he 
becomes sullen and silent, and retires to his closet ; not to 
compose his mind by study or contemplation, but merely to 
indulge the melancholy enjoyment of his own ill humor. Even 
when the fit is ended, unfavorable symptoms very frequently 
return, which indicate that on certain occasions his royal high- 
ness has too correct a memory. 

Though I have mentioned his good and bad qualities, with- 
out flattery and without aggravation, allowances should still 
be made, on account of his youth and his bad education. . . . 
The mother and the nursery always prevailed. 

During the course of the last year there has, indeed, been 
some alteration ; the authority of the nursery has gradually de- 
clined, and the earl of Bute, by the assistance of the mother, 
has now the entire confidence. But whether this change will 
be greatly to his royal highness's advantage is a nice question, 
which cannot hitherto be determined with any certainty. 

Two more of the letters of Horace Walpole may be 
used to describe the circumstances of the accession of 
the young king, George III, and the resignation of Wil- 
liam Pitt that followed close upon it. 

As I suppose your curiosity about the new reign is not les- 366. Horace 
sened by being at such a distance, I am, you see, prompt in r: P°^^ *° 
satisfyuig it, and I can do it m a few words. It set out with great Mann (No- 
show of alteration ; it soon settled into the old channel. The vember i, 
favorite appeared sole minister for a day or two. The old 
ministers agreed to continue as they were ; and though the 
duke of Newcastle attempted to pretend to have a mind of Bute added to 
retiring, he soon recollected that he had no such inclination. !'^^ ^^^ """' 
Mr. Pitt on Thursday acquainted the king that he was content 
to manage the war, and wished to act in other things as he 



6o6 Readi7igs in English History 

had done under the duke of Newcastle in the late reign ; the 
city have expressed the same advice ; the duke signified his 
acquiescence yesterday ; and thus only the superficies of the 
drawing-room is altered, not the government. The household 
will probably not be settled till after the burial. 

The young king, you may trust me, who am not apt to 
be enamoured with royalty, gives all the indication imaginable 
of being amiable. His person is tall and full of dignity; his 
countenance florid and good-natured ; his manner graceful 
and obliging ; he expresses no warmth nor resentment against 
anybody ; at most, coldness. To the duke of Cumberland he 
has shown even a delicacy of attention. He told him he in- 
tended to introduce a new custom into his family, that of liv- 
ing well with all his family ; and he would not permit anybody 
but the princess to be named in the prayers, because the duke 
of Cumberland must have been put back for the duke of York. 
This is a nature that your own is suited to represent ; you will 
now act in character. 

367. Horace I wrote to you but last week. You will conclude I have a 
Waipoie to victory to tell you, by following that letter with another so 
Mann (Octo- soon. Oh, ilo ! you may bid adieu to victories. It is not that 
ber 6, 1761) Spain or we have declared war, but Mr. Pitt has resigned. The 
cabinet council were for temporizing. That is not his style. 

Without entering into discussions of which side is in the 
right, you will easily see how fatal this event must be, even 
from its creating two sides. What saved us, and then what 
lifted us so high, but union? What could France, what could 
your old friend the Empress Queen, desire so ardently as 
divisions amongst us? They will have their wish to satiety. 
I foresee nothing but confusion. Nor shall we have a war 
the less : if Spain bullied while Mr. Pitt was minister, I don't 
believe she will tremble more at his successors. Who they will 
be I cannot imagine. It required all his daring to retrieve our 
affairs. Who will dare for him, nay, and against him? Next 
to pitying our country and ourselves, I feel for the young king. 
It is hard to have so bright a dawn so soon overcast ! I fear 
he is going to taste as bitter a cup as ever his grandfather 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 607 

swallowed ! This happened but yesterday. It is not an event 
to lie dormant long without consequences. 

Adieu ! my dear child ; this is an unpleasant letter, and I 
don't care how soon I finish it. Squabbles of ministers are 
entertaining in time of peace ; they are a little too serious 
now. Adieu ! 

One of the last of Lord Chesterfield's characteriza- 
tions of his contemporaries, written in 1762, is devoted 
to William Pitt, who had just then resigned from office, 
after reaching his highest point of glory and success. 

Mr. Pitt owed his rise to the most considerable posts and 368. A con- 
power in this kingdom singly to his own abilities. In him they temporary 
supplied the want of birth and fortune, which latter in others ^j^^ ^^ -^^ 
too often supply the want of the former. He was a younger Pitt 
brother of a very new family, and his fortune only an annuity 
of one hundred pounds a year. His constitution refused him 
the usual pleasures, and his genius forbade him the idle dissi- 
pations of youth ; for so early as at the age of sixteen he 
was the martyr of an hereditary gout. He therefore employed 
the leisure which that tedious and painful distemper either 
produced or allowed him, in acquiring a great fund of prema- 
ture and useful knowledge. ... His ruling passion was an 
unbounded ambition, which, when supported by great abilities, 
and crowned with great success, make what the world calls " a 
great man." He was haughty, imperious, impatient of con- 
tradiction, and over-bearing : qualities which too often accom- 
pany, but always clog, great ones. . . . 

He came young into parliament, and upon that great theater 
soon equaled the oldest and ablest actors. His eloquence 
was of every kind, and he excelled in the argumentative as 
well as in the declamatory way. But his invectives were 
terrible, and uttered with such energy of diction, and stern 
dignity of action and countenance, that he intimidated those 
who were the most willing and the best able to encounter 
him. Their arms fell out of their hands, and they shrunk 
under the ascendant which his genius gained over theirs. . . . 



6o8 Readings in English History 

The weight of his popularity and his universally acknowl- 
edged abilities obtruded him upon King George the Second, 
to whom he was personally obnoxious. He was made secre- 
tary of state ; in this difficult and delicate situation ... he 
managed with such ability that, while he served the king more 
effectively ... he still preserved all his credit and popularity 
with the public ; whom he assured and convinced that the 
protection and defense of Hanover, with an army of seventy- 
five thousand men in British pay, was the only possible method 
of securing our possessions or acquisitions in North America. 
So much easier is it to deceive than to undeceive mankind. 

Another characterization of Pitt appears in the Annual 
Register for 1761. As Edmund Burke had founded that 
publication in the year 1758, it has been inferred that 
he was the author of this eloquent description. If so, 
this was one of the earhest pieces of political writing of 
that great statesman. It is of interest to note that the 
Register still appears annually, giving an important and 
interesting summary of current events. 

369. The Without presuming to take part in a controversy which 

character and Chowever unequally) divided the royal council, or without 

services of 

pj^^ entering into the sentiments of any faction, which we have 

always shunned, we may affirm with truth and impartiality 
that no man was ever better fitted than Mr. Pitt to be the 
minister in a great and powerful nation, or better qualified to 
carry that power and greatness to their utmost limits. There 
was in all his designs a magnitude, and even a vastness, which 
was not easily comprehended by every mind, and which noth- 
ing but success could have made to appear reasonable. . . . 
Pitt's popular His power, as it was not acquired, so neither was it exer- 
support cised, in an ordinary manner. With very little parliamentary 

and with less court influence, he swayed both at court and in 
parliament with an authority unknown before to the best sup- 
ported ministers. He was called to the ministry by the voice 
of the people ; and what is more rare, he held it with that 



Industrial, American, and French Revolntions 609 

approbation ; and under him, for the first time, administration 
and popularity were seen united. Under him Great Britain 
carried on the most important war in which she ever was en- 
gaged, alone and unassisted, with greater splendour and with 
more success than she had ever enjoyed at the head of the 
most powerful alliances. Alone, this island seemed to balance 
the rest of Europe. 

In the conduct of the war he never suffered the enemy to His energy 
breathe, but overwhelmed them with reiterated blows, and 
kept up the alarm in every quarter. If one of his expeditions 
was not so well calculated or so successfully executed, amends 
were made by another, and by a third. The spirit of the 
nation once roused was not suffered for a moment to sub- 
side ; and the French, dazzled as it were by the multitude 
and celerity of his enterprises, seemed to have lost all power 
of resistance. In short, he revived the military genius of our 
people ; he supported our allies ; he extended our trade ; he 
raised our reputation ; he augmented our dominions ; and, on 
his departure from administration, left the nation in no other 
danger than that which ever must attend exorbitant power, and 
the temptation which may be to the invidious exertion of it. 

Happy it had been for him, for his sovereign and his His inability 
country, if a temper less austere and a disposition more prac- *° ^^^ ""''^ 

,1 ,. 1 •!• • 111 . . , other men 

ticable, more compliant and conciliatmg, had been jomed to 
his other great virtues. The want of these qualities disabled 
him from acting any otherwise than alone : it prevented our 
enjoying the joint fruit of the wisdom of many able men, who 
might mutually have tempered and mutually forwarded each" 
other ; and finally, which was not the meanest loss, it deprived 
us of his own immediate services. 

Those who censured his political conduct the most severely 
could raise but few exceptions to it ; none of them singly, and 
perhaps the whole united, of no great weight against a person 
long engaged in so great a scene of action. . . . The conduct 
of Mr. Pitt when the parliament met, in which he made his 
own justification, without impeaching the conduct of any of 
his colleagues or taking one measure that might seem to arise 
from disgust or opposition, has set a seal upon his character. 



II. The Industrial Revolution 

The great revolution that took place in manufactur- 
ing, agriculture, transportation, and other forms of in- 
dustry, in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, 
deep, permanent, and all-important as were its effects, 
left less impression on contemporary literature than 
iftany far less important matters. It consisted of a great 
number of practical changes in many fields of human 
occupation and interest, not in the adoption of any 
one great law or other recorded event. Some striking 
suggestions of the changes in progress can, however, be 
obtained from the writings of Arthur Young, a traveler 
and observer who was particularly interested in matters 
of agriculture, but who noted also other things that he 
saw. On a trip which he took in 1768 in the northern 
part of England, he described the improved agriculture 
and the large-sized farms, but found the old domestic 
form of industry carried on by small weavers in their 
separate houses still in existence, and the roads still 
unimproved. 

370. Obser- All the country from Holkam to Houghton was a wild sheep- 
vations of y;2^k before the spirit of improvement seized the inhabitants ; 
Young in ^^^ ^^^^ glorious spirit has wrought amazing effects ; for 
1768 instead of boundless wilds and uncultivated wastes, inhabited 

by scarce anything but sheep, the country is cut into inclos- 
ures, cultivated in a most husband-like manner, richly manured, 
well-peopled, and yielding an hundred times the produce that 
it did in its former state. What has wrought these vast im- 
provements is the marling ; for under the whole country run 
veins of a very rich soapy kind, which they dig up and spread 
upon the old sheep-walks, and then by means of inclosing 
they throw their farms into a regular course of crops, and gain 
immensely by the improvement. . . . 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 6ii 

The principal farms (at least those that are most commonly Large farms 
mentioned) are Mr. Curtis' of Summerfield, 2500 acres; Mr. 
Mallet's of Dunton, as much ; Mr. Barton's of Rougham, 3000; 
Messrs. Glover's of Creek and Barwic ; Messrs. Savary's of 
Sydderstone, each 11 00 acres. Cultivation in all its branches 
is carried on by these men, and many others, in a very com- 
plete manner. But marling is the great foundation of their 
wealth. . . . 

The general economy of their farms will appear from the 
following sketch of one of iioo acres. 

The farmer generally has 100 acres of winter corn, 250 
acres of barley and oats, 50 acres of pease, 200 acres of tur- 
nips, 400 acres of grasses, and 100 acres of sheep-walk. 

He keeps 6 servants, 6 laborers, 30 horses, 20 cows, 900 
sheep, and 5 ploughs ; and in harvest time has in all about 40 
people in the field. . . . 

Witney is very famous for its woolen manufactory ; which The domestic 
consists of what they call kersey pieces, coarse bear-skins, and weavmg m- 
blankets. The two first they make for the North American 
market ; vast quantities being sent up the river St. Lawrence, 
and likewise to New York. Their finest blankets, which rise 
in price to p/^3 a pair, are exported to Spain and Portugal; 
but all are sent to London first in broad-wheeled waggons, of 
which four or five go every week. The finest wools they work 
come from 8^/. to 10^/. a pound. The coarsest from Lincoln- 
shire ; they call it dag-locks; they sell for 4^^/. per lb. and are 
used for making the coarse bear-skins. There are about 500 
weavers in this town, who work up 7000 packs of wool annually. 

Journeymen in general, on an average, earn from \os. to 
1 2 J-. a week, all the year round, both summer and winter ; but 
they work from four to eight, and in winter by candle-light. 
The work is of that nature that a boy of fourteen earns as 
much as a man. One of seven or eight earns by quilling and 
cornering, \s. 6d. and is. Sd. a week, and girls the same. 
Old women of 60 and 70 earn 6d. a. day in picking and sorting 
the wool; a good stout woman can earn from 10 d. to is. a. 
day by spinning; and a girl of 14, 4^. or 5^. They weave 
according to the season ; in winter kerseys and bear-skins 



6i2 Readings in EnglisJi History 

ready for shipping in the summer up the St. Lawrence ; and 
in summer blankets for home consumption, and Spain and 
Portugal. . . . 
Unimproved Of all the cursed roads that ever disgraced this kingdom, 
roads jj-^ ^^ ygj-y g^ggg qJ barbarisui, none ever equalled that from 

Billericay to the King's Head at Tilbury. It is for near twelve 
miles so narrow that a mouse cannot pass by any carriage ; I 
saw a fellow creep under his waggon to assist men to lift, if 
possible, my chaise over a hedge. The ruts are of an incredi- 
ble depth, and a pavement of diamonds might as well be sought 
for as a quarter. The trees everywhere overgrow the road, so 
that it is totally impervious to the sun, except at a few places ; 
and to add to all the infamous circumstances which concur to 
plague a traveller, I must not forget the eternally meeting with 
chalk-waggons ; themselves frequently stuck fast, till a collec- 
tion of them are in the same situation, and twenty or thirty 
horses may be tacked to each, to draw them out one by one. 

On a trip which the same author took to the north 
of England some years later, in 1791, he finds the 
new system of canals already much developed, and 
the activity of the manufacturing city of Birmingham 
conspicuous. 

371. The new The capital improvement wrought since I was here before 
north^ Iboilt ^^ ^^^ ^^"^'' ^° Oxford, Coventry, Wolverhampton, etc. ; the 
Birmingham port, as it may be called, or double canal head in the town, 
(1791) crowded with coal barges, is a noble spectacle, with that pro- 

digious animation which the immense trade of this place could 
alone give. I looked around me with amazement at the change 
effected in twelve years ; so great that this place may now 
probably be reckoned with justice the first manufacturing tomi 
in the world. From this port and these quays you may now 
go by water to Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Oxford (130 miles), 
and London. The cut was opened through the coal mines to 
Wolverhampton in 1769; in 1783, into the new mines of 
Wednesbury, and to the junction with the Coventry canal, at 



Industrial, American, a 7id French Revolutions 613 

Faseley, near Tamworth. From Birmingham to the Stafford- 
shire canal is 22 miles, and to Faseley 15. In the 22 miles 
from hence to Wolverhampton only three locks ; but down to 
Faseley there are 44 locks. 

A glimpse of the rapidly growing machine manufac- 
ture in the northern counties, and of at least one of 
the evils connected with it, can be obtained from the 
following letter written in the same year as the last 
extract, 1791. 

A gentleman from York passed through this city a few days 372- A letter 

ago, who gave us a new confirmation of the flourishing state of *romGiouces- 

^ ' ° . ° ter (Septem- 

the woolen trade in that county. He says that although so ber 12, 1791) 

many machines have been erected, yet the trade has thereby 
been increased to that degree that at this time no less than 
seventy additional machines are now setting up in the neigh- 
borhood of Leeds, Bradford, and Huddersfield. One manu- ' 
facturer assured this gentleman that he was in such want of 
hands as to be driven to the expedient of procuring from the 
workhouses of London 500 poor children to be employed in 
his workshops. 

The following notice of the death of Sir Richard 
Arkwright, inventor of the most important machine for 
spinning by power, is taken from a contemporary news- 
paper. Although it gives a mistaken statement of the 
origin of his machine, yet it shows the prominence to 
which he had risen, and the influence of the new man- 
ufactures, even as early as 1792. 

At his seat at Cromford, in Derbyshire, Sir Richard Ark- 373. Notice of 

Wright, knt. ; who, by uncommon genius and persevering Indus- *^® death of 
° , r , • • • the inventor 

try, mvented and perfected a system of machmery for spmnmg, ^f machine 

that had been in vain attempted by many of the first mechan- spinning 

icks of the last and present centuries ; which, by giving per- ^^792) 

petual employment to many thousand families, has increased 



account 



614 Readings in English History 

the population, and been productive of great commercial ad- 
vantages to this country. He has died immensely rich, and 
has left manufactories the income of which is greater than that 
of most German principalities, though derived from very op- 
posite circumstances, those that promote the prosperity of a 
country. His real and personal property is estimated at little 
A mistaken short of half a million. From the humble station of a barber 
at a village near Manchester, he gradually rose in the acquisi- 
tion of this vast wealth by the accidental purchase of a single 
piece of mechanism, called the Spinning Jenny, the invention 
of an ingenious carpenter, who, as report says, offered it for 
sale from mere necessity. 

The following estimate of the importance of the in- 
vention of the steam engine was written in 18 19, after 
that power had been applied to various kinds of manu- 
facturing, but before it had been used for locomotives, 
■ and the many other uses to which it was afterward 
applied. This extract is taken from an article by Francis 
Jeffrey in the Edinbnrgh Review. 

374.Thework We have said that Mr. Watt was the great improver of the 
of^james steam engine ; but, in truth, as to all that is admirable in its 
structure, or vast in its utility, he should rather be described 
as its inventor. It was by his inventions that its action was so 
regulated as to make it capable of being applied to the finest 
and most delicate manufactures, and its power so increased as 
to set weight and solidity at defiance. By his admirable con- 
trivance it has become a thing stupendous alike for its force 
and its flexibility, — for the prodigious power which it can 
exert and the ease and precision and ductility with which it 
can be varied, distributed, and applied. The trunk of an ele- 
phant, that can pick up a pin or rend an oak, is as nothing to 
it. It can engrave a seal and crush masses of obdurate metal 
before it ; draw out, without breaking, a thread as fine as a 
gossamer, and lift a ship of war like a bauble in the air. It can 
embroider muslin and forge anchors, cut steel into ribbons, 
and impel loaded vessels against the fury of the winds and waves. 



Watt 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 615 

It would be impossible to estimate the value of the benefits The wealth 
which these inventions have conferred upon this country. There created by 
is no branch of industry that has not been indebted to them ; ^as enabled 
and, in all the most material, they have not only widened most the govern- 
magnificently the field of its exertions, but multiplied a thou- "'°"^ 1° ""^'^^ 

° ■' . ' ■' great taxes 

sandfold the amount of its productions. It is our improved and support 
steam-engine that has fought the battles of Europe, and exalted S""^^* armies 
and sustained, through the late tremendous contest, the politi- 
cal greatness of our land. It is the same great power which 
enables us now to pay the interest of our debt, and to main- 
tain the arduous struggle in which we are still engaged with 
the skill and capital of countries less oppressed with taxation. 

But these are poor and narrow views of its importance. It 
has increased indefinitely the mass of human comforts and 
enjoyments, and rendered cheap and accessible, all over the 
world, the materials of wealth and prosperity. It has armed 
the feeble hand of man, in short, with a power to which no 
limits can be assigned ; completed the dominion of mind over 
the most refractory qualities of matter ; and laid a sure founda- 
tion for all those future miracles of mechanic power which are 
to aid and reward the labors of after generations. 

It is to the genius of one man, too, that all this is mainly 
owing ; and certainly no man ever bestowed such a gift on his 
kind. The blessing is not only universal, but unbounded ; and 
the fabled inventors of the plough and loom, who were deified 
by the erring gratitude of their rude contemporaries, conferred 
less important benefits on mankind than the inventor of our 
present steam-engines. This will be the fame of Watt with future 
generations ; and it is sufficient for his race and his country. 



III. The Opposition to the Government 

The weekly journal, The North Briton, whose forty- 
fifth issue was so outspoken in its opposition to the min- 
isters, and through them to George III, as to give such 
deep offense, seems to us in more modern times a very 
moderate and respectful document. This will be seen 



6i6 Readings in English History 

from the following extracts, which contain its strongest 
expressions. It angered the king because it represented 
an opposition entirely outside of the government, and 
because it appeared just when he was adopting a policy 
of greater royal authority, and most deeply resented 
attacks on ministers who were satisfactory to him, and 
whom he therefore felt should be free from attack. 

The king's speech has always been considered by the legis- 
lature, and by the public at large, as the speech of the min- 
ister. It has regularly, at the beginning of every session of 
parliament, been referred by both houses to the consideration 
o£ a committee, and has been generally canvassed with the 
utmost freedom, when the minister of the crown has been ob- 
noxious to the nation. The ministers of this free country, con- 
scious of the undoubted privileges of so spirited a people, and 
with the terrors of parliament before their eyes, have ever been 
cautious, no less with regard to the matter than to the expres- 
sion of speeches which they have advised the sovereign to make 
from the throne, at the opening of each session. They well 
know that an honest house of parliament, true to their trust, 
could not fail to detect the fallacious arts, or to remonstrate 
against the daring acts of violence committed by any minister. 
The speech at the close of the session has ever been considered 
as the most secure method of promulgating the favorite court- 
creed among the vulgar ; because the parliament, which is the 
constitutional guardian of the liberties of the people, has in 
this case no opportunity of remonstrating, or of impeaching 
any wicked servant of the crowTi. 

This week has given the public the most abandoned instance 
of ministerial effrontery ever attempted to be imposed on man- 
kind. The minister's speech of last Tuesday is not to be paral- 
leled in the annals of this country. I am in doubt whether the 
imposition is greater on the sovereign or on the nation. Every 
friend of his country must lament that a prince of so many 
great and amiable qualities, whom England truly reveres, can 
be brought to give the sanction of his sacred name to the 



Industrial, Avicrican, and FreiicJi Revolutions 617 

most odious measures and to the most unjustifiable public - 
declarations from a throne ever renowned for truth, honor, 
and unsullied virtue. . . . 

A despotic minister will always endeavor to dazzle his prince The misrep- 
with high-flown ideas of the prerogative and honor of the crown, resentations 

1-11 • • -11 1 1 r r 1 ... of the prime 

which the mmister will make a parade or firmly maintaining, minister 
I wish as much as any man in the kingdom to see the honour 
of the crown maintained in a manner truly becoming royalty. 
I lament to see it sunk even to prostitution. What a shame 
was it to see the security of this country, in point of military 
force, complimented away, contrary to the opinion of royalty 
itself, and sacrificed to the prejudices and to the ignorance of 
a set of people the most unfit, from every consideration, to be 
consulted on a matter relative to the security of the house of 
Hanover. . . . 

The king of England is only the first magistrate of this A warning to 
country, but is invested by the law with the whole executive *'^® ^^"^ 
power. He is, however, responsible to his people for the due 
execution of the royal functions, in the choice of ministers, 
etc. ; equal with the meanest of his subjects in his particular 
duty. The personal character of our present amiable sovereign 
makes us easy and happy that so great a power is lodged in 
such hands ; but the favorite has given too just cause for him 
to escape the general odium. The prerogative of the crown 
is to exert the constitutional powers entrusted to it in a way 
not of blind favor and partiality, but of wisdom and judgment. 
This is the spirit of our constitution. The people, too, have 
their prerogative, and I hope the fine words of Dryden will be 
engraven on our hearts, " Freedom is the English subject's 
prerogative." 

The occurrences in parliament and in the city of 
London connected with the Wilkes matter, from 1763 
to 1768, are reflected in the following three vivacious 
letters of Horace Walpole, now becoming an old man. 
The fact that a man of such contemptible personal 
life and character as Wilkes should become a popular 



6i8 



Readings in English History 



376. Horace 
Walpole to 
Sir Horace 
Mann (No- 
vember 17, 
1763) 



Parliament 
votes for the 
condemnation 
of The North 
Briton 



hero, simply because he opposed the government vigor- 
ously, shows how deep was the chasm which at that 
time separated the people on the one side from botli 
parliament and king on the other side. 

The parliament met on Tuesday. We — for you know I 
have the honor of being a senator — sat till two in the morn- 
ing ; and had it not been that there is always more oratory, 
more good sense, more knowledge, and more sound reasoning 
in the House of Commons than in the rest of the universe put 
together, the House of Lords only excepted, I should have 
thought it as tedious, dull, and unentertaining a debate as 
ever I heard in my days. The business was a complaint made 
by one King George of a certain paper called The North Briton, 
No. 45, which the said king asserted was written by a much 
more famous man called Mr. Wilkes. Well ! and so you imagine 
that Mr. Wilkes and King George went from the House of 
Commons and fought out their quarrel in Hyde Park? And 
which do you guess was killed? 

Again you are mistaken. Mr. Wilkes, with all the impar- 
tiality in the world, and with the phlegm of an Areopagite, 
sat and heard the whole matter discussed, and now and then 
put in a word, as if the affair did not concern him. The House 
of Commons, who would be wisdom itself if they could but 
all agree on which side of a question wisdom lies, and who are 
sometimes forced to divide in order to find out, did divide 
twice on this affair. The first time, one hundred and eleven, 
of which I had the misfortune to be one, had more curiosity 
to hear Mr. Wilkes's story than King George's ; but three hun- 
dred being of the contrary opinion, it was plain they were in 
the right, especially as they had no private motives to guide 
them. Again, the individual one-hundred-and-eleven could not 
see that The North Brit07i tended to foment treasonable insur- 
rections, though we had it argumentatively demonstrated to us 
for seven hours together ; but the moment we heard two hun- 
dred and seventy-five gentlemen counted, it grew as plain to 
us as a pike-staff, for a syllogism carries less conviction than 
a superior number, though that number does not use the least 



Industrial, Ame7ican, and French Revolutions 619 

force upon earth, but only walks peaceably out of the house 
and into it again. 

The next day we were to be in the same numerical way con- Expulsion of 
vinced that we ought to be but one-hundred-and-ten, for that Wilkes from 
we ought to expel Mr. Wilkes out of the house, and the major- ^^^ '^™^" 
ity were to prove to us (for we are slow of comprehension, and 
imbibe instruction very deliberately) that in order to have all 
London acquainted with the person and features of Mr. Wilkes, 
it would be necessary to set him on a high place called the 
pillory, where everybody might see him at leisure. Some were 
even almost ready to think that, being a very ugly man, he 
would look better without his ears, and poor Sir William 
Stanhope, who endeavored all day by the help of a trumpet to 
listen to these wise debates and found it to no purpose, said, 
" If they want a pair of ears they may take mine, for I am sure 
they are of no use to me." The regularity, however, of these 
systematic proceedings has been a little interrupted. One Mr. 
Martin, who has much the same quarrel with Mr. Wilkes as 
King George, and who chose to suspend his resentment like 
his Majesty, till with proper dignity he could notify his wrath 
to parliament, did express his indignation with rather less 
temper than the king had done, calling Mr. Wilkes to his 
face cowardly scoundrel, which you, who represent monarchs, 
know, is not royal language. 

Mr. Wilkes, who, it seems, whatever may have been thought, Duel between 
had rather die compendiously than piece-meal, inquired of Mr. "^I'l^esand 
Martin by letter next morning, if he, Mr. Wilkes, was meant by 
him, Mr. Martin, under the periphrasis "cowardly scoundrel." 
Mr. Martin replied in the affirmative, and accompanied his 
answer with a challenge. They immediately went into Hyde 
Park ; and, at the second fire, Mr. Wilkes received a bullet in 
his body. Don't be frightened, the wound was not mortal; at 
least it was not yesterday. Being corporally delirious to-day, 
as he has been mentally some time, I cannot tell what to say 
to it. However, the breed will not be lost, if he should die. . . . 

Well ! but we have had a prodigious riot : are you not im- 
patient to know the particulars? It was so prodigious a tumult 



620 



Readings in English History 



377. Horace 
Walpole to 
the earl of 
Hertford 
(December 9, 
1763) 



that I verily thought half the administration would have run 
away to Harrowgate. The North Briton was ordered to be 
burned by the hangman at Cheapside, on Saturday last. The 
mob rose ; the greatest mob, says Mr. Sheriff Blunt, that he 
has known in forty years. They were armed with that most 
bloody instrument, the mud out of the kennels ; they hissed 
in the most murderous manner \ broke Mr. Sheriff Harley's 
coach-glass in the most frangent manner; scratched his fore- 
head, so that he is forced to wear a little patch in the most 
becoming manner ; and obliged the hangman to burn the paper 
with a link, though fagots were prepared to execute it in a 
more solemn manner. Numbers of gentlemen, from windows 
and balconies, encouraged the mob, who, in about an hour and 
a half, were so undutiful to the ministry as to retire without 
doing any mischief, or giving Mr. Carteret Webb the oppor- 
tunity of a single information, except against an ignorant lad 
who had been in town but ten days. . . . 



378. Horace Williams, the reprinter of The North Briton, stood in the 

Walpole to pillory to-day in Palace Yard. He went in a hackney-coach 
Hertford the number of which was 45 . The mob erected a gallows oppo- 

(February 14, gjte to him, on which they hung a boot with a bonnet of straw. 
^ Then a collection was made for Williams, which amounted to 

near ^^200. In short, every public event informs the admin- 
istration how thoroughly they are detested, and that they have 
not a friend whom they do not buy. Who can wonder, when 
every man of virtue is proscribed, and they have neither parts 
nor character to impose even upon the mob ! Think to what 
a government is sunk when a secretary of state is called in 
parliament to his face *' the most profligate sad dog in the 
kingdom," and not a man can open his lips in his defense. 
Sure power must have some strange unknown charm when it 
can compensate for such contempt ! I see many who triumph 
in these bitter pills which the ministry are so often forced to 
swallow ; I own I do not ; it is more mortifying to me to re- 
flect how great and respectable we were three years ago, than 
satisfactory to see those insulted who have brought such shame 
upon us. . . . 



hidustrial, American, and French Revolutions 62 1 

The day before yesterday the parliament met. There have 379- Horace 
been constant crowds and mobbing at the prison, but on Tues- <.-^^° ^ *° 
day they insisted on taking Wilkes out of prison and carrying Mann 
him to parliament. The tumult increased so fast that the riot (May 12, 
act was read, the soldiers fired, and a young man was shot. The 
mob bore the body about the streets to excite more rage, and 
at night it went so far that four or five more persons were 
killed and the uproar quashed, though they fired on the soldiers 
from the windows of houses. The partisans of Wilkes say the 
young man was running aw^ay, was pursued and killed ; and 
the jury have brought it in wilful murder against the officer 
and men : so they must take their trials ; and it makes their 
case very hard and lays the government under great difficul- 
ties. On the other side, the young man is said to have been 
riotous, and marked as such by the guards. But this is not all. 
We have independent mobs that have nothing to do with 
Wilkes, and who only take advantage of so favorable a season. 
The dearness of provision incites, the hope of increase of 
wages allures, and drink puts them in motion. The coal- 
heavers began, and it is well it is not a hard frost, for they 
have stopped all coals coming to town. The sawyers rose too, 
and at last the sailors, who have committed great outrages in 
merchant ships and prevented them from sailing. . . . 

I wish with all my heart that I may have no more to tell 
you of riots ] not that I ever think them very serious things, 
but just to the persons on whom the storm bursts. But I pity 
poor creatures who are deluded to their fate and fall by gin 
or faction, when they have not a real grievance to complain 
of but what depends on the elements or causes past remedy. 
I cannot bear to have the name of liberty profaned to the de- 
struction of the cause ; for frantic tumults only lead to that 
terrible corrective, arbitrary power, — which cowards call out 
for as protection, and knaves are so ready to grant. 

The intense interest taken in the Junius Letters in 
their own time is hard to realize now. Their importance 
is to be found in the spirit of opposition they embody. 
The following is a typical letter, attacking the ministry, 



622 



Readings in English History 



380. One of 
the Junius 
Letters to 
the printer of 
the Public 
Advertiser 

(July 30. 

1768) 



The struggle 
to retain the 
American 
colonies 



and through them the king, for their dilatory poHcy in 
regard to the American colonies. 

Sir: 

It is not many months since you gave me an opportunity of 
demonstrating to the nation, as far as rational inference and 
probability could extend, that the hopes which some men seem 
to entertain, or to profess at least, with regard to America, 
were without a shadow of foundation. They seemed to flatter 
themselves that the contest with the colonies, like a disagree- 
able question in the House of Commons, might be put off to 
a long day, and provided they could get rid of it for the 
present, they thought it beneath them to consult either their 
own reputation, or the true interests of their country. But 
whatever were their views or expectations, whether it was the 
mere enmity of party, or the real persuasion that they had 
but a little time to live in office, every circumstance which I 
then foretold is confirmed by experience. 

The conduct of the king's servants in relation to America, 
since the alteration in 1765, never had a reasonable argument 
to defend it, and the chapter of accidents which they im- 
plicitly relied on has not produced a single casualty in their 
favor. At a crisis like this, sir, I shall not be very solicitous 
about those idle forms of respect, which men in office think 
due to their characters and station ; neither will I descend to 
a language beneath the importance of the subject I write on. 
When the fate of Great Britain is thrown upon the hazard of 
a die, by a weak, distracted, worthless ministry, an honest 
man will always express all the indignation he feels. This is 
not a moment for preserving forms, and the ministry must 
know that the language of reproach and contempt is now the 
universal language of the nation. 

We find ourselves at last reduced to the dreadful alterna- 
tive of either making war upon our colonies, or of suffering 
them to erect themselves into independent states. It is not 
that I hesitate now upon the choice we are to make. Every- 
thing must be hazarded, But what infamy, what punishment 
do those men deserve whose folly or whose treachery hath 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 623 

reduced us to this state, in which we can neither give up the 
cause without a certainty of ruin, nor maintain it without such 
a struggle as must shake the empire? . . . 

If we look for their motives, we shall find them such as An attack on 
weak and interested men usually act upon. They were weak *^^^ ministry 
enough to hope that the crisis of Great Britain and America 
would be reserved for their successors in office, and they were 
determined to hazard even the ruin of their country rather 
than furnish the man whom they feared and hated with the 
melancholy triumph of having truly foretold the consequences 
of their own misconduct. But this, such as it is, the triumph 
of a heart that bleeds at every vein, they cannot deprive him 
of. They dreaded the acknowledgment of his superiority 
over them, and the loss of their own -authority and credit, 
more than the rebellion of near half the empire against the 
supreme legislature. On this patriotic principle they exerted 
their utmost efforts to defer the decision of this great national 
cause till the last possible moment. The timidity, weakness, 
and distraction of government at home gave spirits, strength, 
"and union to the colonies. . . . 



IV. The Struggle with the American Colonies 

When the troubles with the American colonies over 
the enforcement of the Stamp Act arose, William Pitt, 
who had been in retirement since 1761, returned to 
parliament and made the following address in the House 
of Commons. He advocated practical reconciliation, 
while asserting a general abstract right possessed by 
parliament to exercise control over the colonies. 

Gentlemen : 381. A speech 

Sir, I have been charged with giving birth to sedition in p.yjl.^'^'" 
America. They have spoken their sentiments with freedom ary 14, 1766) 
against this unhappy act, and that freedom has become their 
crime. Sorry I am to hear the liberty of speech in this House 
imputed as a crime. But the imputation shall not discourage 



624 



Readings in English History 



me. It is a liberty I mean to exercise. No gentleman ought 
to be afraid to exercise it. It is a liberty by which the gentle- 
man who calumniates it might have profited. He ought to have 
desisted from his project. The gentleman tells us America is 
obstinate ; America is almost in open rebellion. I rejoice that 
An answer to America has resisted. Three millions of people so dead to all 
George Gren- ^|^g feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves, 
minister would have been fit instruments to make slaves of the rest. 

I come not here armed at all points, with law cases and acts 
of parliament, with the statute book doubled down in dog's- 
ears, to defend the cause of liberty ; if I had, I myself would 
have cited the two cases of Chester and Durham. I would have 
cited them to have shown that, even under former arbitrary 
reigns, parliaments were ashamed of taxing a people without 
their consent, and allowed them representatives. . . . 

I am no courtier of America. I stand up for this kingdom. 
I maintain that the parliament has the right to bind, — to 
restrain America. Our legislative power over the colonies is 
sovereign and supreme. When it ceases to be sovereign and 
supreme, I would advise every gentleman to sell his lands, if 
he can, and embark for that country. When two countries are 
connected together, like England and her colonies, without 
being incorporated, the one must necessarily govern ; the 
greater must rule the less ; but so rule it as not to contradict 
the fundamental principles that are common to both. . . . 

The Americans have not acted in all things with prudence 
and temper. The Americans have been wronged. They have 
been driven to madness by injustice. Will you punish them 
for the madness you have occasioned .-' Rather let prudence 
and temper come first from this side. I will undertake for 
America that she will follow the example. There are two 
lines in a ballad of Prior's, of a man's behaviour to his wife, so 
applicable to you and your colonies that I cannot help repeating 

" Be to her faults a little blind : 
Be to her virtues very kind." 

Pitt's advice Upon the whole, I will beg leave to tell the House what 
is really my opinion. It is, that the Stamp Act be repealed 



Industrial, American, and FrencJi Revolutions 625 

absolutely, totally, and immediately. That the reason for the 
repeal be assigned, because it was founded on an erroneous 
principle. At the same time let the sovereign authority of this 
country over the colonies be asserted in as strong terms as can 
be devised, and be made to extend to every point of legislation 
whatsoever ; that we may bind their trade, confine their man- 
ufactures, and exercise every power whatsoever, except that of 
taking their money out of their pockets without their consent. 

After considerable delay parliament took the very 
action that Chatham had advised. They repealed the 
act taxing the colonies, but at the same time passed the 
following "declaratory act," asserting that they had 
the right and power to pass laws controlling the Amer- 
ican colonies if they wished to do so. 

An act for the better securing the dependency of his Maj- 382. The de- 
esty's colonies and plantations in America upon the crown daratory act 
and parliament of Great Britain. j„^ ' 

Whereas several of the houses of representatives in his 
Majesty's colonies and plantations in America have of late, 
against law, claimed to themselves, or to the general assem- 
blies of the same, the sole and exclusive right of imposing 
duties and taxes upon his Majesty's subjects in the said colo- 
nies and plantations ; and have, in pursuance of such claim, 
passed certain votes, resolutions, and orders, derogatory to the 
legislative authority of parliament, and inconsistent with the 
dependency of the said colonies and plantations upon the crown 
of Great Britain : ... be it declared . . . , That the said colo- 
nies and plantations in America have been, are, and of right 
ought to be, subordinate unto and dependent upon the impe- 
rial crown and parliament of Great Britain ; and that the 
king's Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the 
lords spiritual and temporal and commons of Great Britain, 
in parliament assembled, had, hath, and of right ought to have, 
full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient 
force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America, 
subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever. 



626 



Readings in English History* 



383. Speech 
of Town- 
shend in the 
House of 
Commons 
(May 13, 
1767) 



Massachusetts 



Pennsylvania 



And be it further declared . . . that all resolutions, votes, 
orders, and proceedings in any of the said colonies or plan- 
tations, whereby the power and authority of the parliament of 
Great Britain to make laws and statutes as aforesaid is denied 
or drawn into question, are, and are hereby declared to be, 
utterly null and void to all intents and purposes whatsoever. 

The growing anger of the ministry and parliament, 
roused by the opposition of the colonies, can be gathered 
from the following contemporary account of the speech 
of Townshend in introducing the'new taxes in 1767. 

On the 13th of May came on at last the great American 
questions. Charles Townshend had already hinted, when he 
opened the budget, at new taxes which he proposed to lay on 
the colonies. He now opened them ; and very inadequate 
indeed did they prove, even in calculation, to the loss of a 
shilling in the pound on land, part of which deficiency they 
were intended to supply. Being so inconsiderable, and esti- 
mated by himself as likely to produce but from ^^35,000 to 
^^40,000 a year, the House too lightly adopted his plan before 
it had been well weighed, and the fatal consequences of which 
did not break out till six years after. 

A concurrent cause weighed with many, and added weight 
to the arguments of more, for inflicting a kind of punishment 
on the refractory colonies, some of which had stubbornly re- 
fused to comply with the late act enjoining them to make 
provision for the army, with other parliamentary injunctions. 
Massachusetts Bay had, as I have said, taken upon themselves 
to execute the act in their own names, and on their own sole 
authority. This deed Townshend said the Privy Council had 
advised his Majesty to annul. That colony contained a set of 
men disposed to inflame all the rest. He stated fully, clearly, 
and with both authority and moderation those several topics ; 
and concluded, he said, that many would think he proposed 
too little, others too much. The Mutiny Bill had been opposed 
almost everywhere, but Pennsylvania and some few colonies 
had executed all our orders. He wished he could name^any 



Industrial, American, and F7'encJi Revolutions 627 

more instances. New Jersey had avoided the act by appoint- New jersey 
ing commissioners, with injunctions to act according to the 
custom of the provinces. 

New York was so opulent that he thought they ought to be New York 
kept in dependence. General Gage, accordingly, was sending 
troops thither. Yet did the New Yorkists commend them- 
selves and boast that they could not remember the time when 
they had refused aid to Britain. They had resolved that if 
they should grant the present demand it might exceed all 
their abilities. This was an extraordinary excuse. More con- 
temptuously still, they promised aid on the requisition of the 
crown, but said nothing of parliament. Were these, he asked, 
the descendants of those men who had fled from prerogative 
to America? Yet even this gracious compliance they held 
themselves at liberty to refuse, if not in proportion to the 
other provinces, if unreasonable, — nay, if inconvenient. 
They would insist, too, on his Majesty's repaying what they 
should furnish to his troops, when he should think proper. 
He would not read, he said, the letters to their governor, Sir 
Henry More, as too inflammatory. To comply, they alleged, 
would be very serious ; yet desired Sir Henry to represent 
their obedience favourably. 

The Massachusetts termed our acts our ordinances, and Parliament 
asserted their own rights of taxation. Many they had dis- ?""^* ^^^^""^ 

■^ ■" Its sovereignty 

countenanced and frightened from their assembly. Governor over the 
Bernard, he believed, was a little heated against them ; yet colonies 
the facts which he charged on them were true. In general, it 
did not become parliament to engage in controversy with its 
colonies, but by one act to assert its sovereignty. He warned 
the House to beware lest the provinces engaged in a common 
cause. Our right of taxation was indubitable; yet himself had 
been for repealing the Stamp Act to prevent mischief. Should 
their disobedience return, the authority of parliament had 
been weakened, and, unless supported with spirit and dignity, 
must be destroyed. The salaries of governors and judges in 
that part of the world must be made independent of their 
assemblies ; but he advised the House to confine their reso- 
lutions to the offending provinces. Pennsylvania was an answer 



628 Readings iti EiiglisJi History 

to New York. New Jersey had limited the sum, but had not 
said it would not comply. He thought it would be prudent 
to inflict censure on New York a-lone ; that some burthen 
ought to be lightened at home and imposed on America. 

He had hinted at taxes ; he would name some, though not 
as chancellor of the exchequer. They were duties on wine, 
oil, and fruits from Spain and Portugal as they come back ; 
on china ; and to take off the drawback on glass, paper, 
lead, and colours. A commissioner of the customs, too, would 
be necessary in America. Parliament ought to exercise its 
authority, but not contrary to the constitution of the prov- 
inces. He then moved a resolution that New York had dis- 
obeyed the act, and that, till they should comply, the governor 
should be restrained from passing any act of their assembly. 
This, he owned, some had said would be confounding the inno- 
cent and the guilty, and would dissolve their assembly. On 
the contrary, others had advised to block up harbours and 
quarter soldiers, but himself could bear to hear of nothing 
military. Some were for a local tax ; but that would be to 
accept penalty in lieu of obedience. 

Few finer examples can be found of the brilliant elo- 
quence of Edmund Burke than his Speech on Conciliation 
ivith America, from which the following extracts are taken. 

384. Burke's The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium 
speech on q-£ ^^j. . j-,q|. pgace to be hunted through the labyrinth of 

Concilia- , ,, ■ ■ • r 

tion ioith intricate and endless negotiations ; not peace to arise out ot 
fj'^^-?^" universal discord fomented from principle in all parts of the 
empire ; not peace to depend on the juridical determination 
of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy 
boundaries of a complex government. It is simple peace, 
sought in its natural course and in its ordinary haunts. It is 
peace sought in the spirit of peace, and laid in principles 
purely pacific. I propose, by removing the ground, of the 
difference, and by restoring the former unsuspecting confi- 
dence of the colonies in the mother country, to give perma- 
nent satisfaction to your people ; and (far from a scheme of 



Industrial^ American, and French Revolutions 629 

ruling by discord) to reconcile them to each other in the 
same act and by the bond of the very same interest which 
reconciles them to British government. 

My idea is nothing more. Refined policy ever has been His plan of 
the parent of confusion, and ever will be so, as long as the simple 

TM • 1 • ■ 1 • 1 ■ M J • fnendly re- 

world endures. Plam good mtention, which is as easily dis- - moval of all 

covered at the first view as fraud is surely detected at last, causes of con- 
is, let me say, of no mean force in the government of man- ^^ 
kind. Genuine simplicity of heart is an healing and cement- 
ing principle. My plan, therefore, being formed upon the 
most simple grounds imaginable, may disappoint some people 
when they hear it. It has nothing to recommend it to the 
pruriency of curious ears. There is nothing at all new and 
captivating in it. It has nothing of the splendor of the proj- 
ect which has been lately laid upon your table by the noble 
lord in the blue ribbon. It does not propose to fill your lobby 
with squabbling colony agents, who will require the interpo- 
sition of your mace at every instant to keep the peace amongst 
them. It does not institute a magnificent auction of finance, 
where captivated provinces come to general ransom by bid- 
ding against each other, until you knock down the hammer 
and determine a proportion of payments beyond all the powers 
of algebra to equalize and settle. . . . 

I pass, therefore, to the colonies in another point of view, Colonial agri- 
— their agriculture. This they have prosecuted with such a "iltural pio- 

. . auction 

spirit that, besides feeding plentifully their own growing mul- 
titude, their annual export of grain, comprehending rice, ^has 
some years ago exceeded a million in value. Of their last 
harvest, I am persuaded, they will export much more. At the 
beginning of the century some of these colonies imported corn 
from the mother country. For some time past the Old World 
has been fed from the New. The scarcity which you have felt 
would have been a desolating famine, if this child of your old 
age, with a true filial piety, with a Roman charity, had not put 
the full breast of its youthful exuberance to the mouth of its 
exhausted parent. 

As to the wealth which the colonies have drawn from the Their whale 
sea by their fisheries, you had all that matter fully opened at fisheries 



630 Readings in English History 

your bar. You surely thought those acciuisitions of value, for 
they seemed even to excite your envy ; and yet the spirit by 
which that enterprising employment has been exercised ought 
rather, in my opinion, to have raised your esteem and admira- 
tion. And pray, sir, what in the world is equal to it? Pass by 
the other parts and look at the manner in which the people of 
New England have of late carried on the whale fishery. Whilst 
we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, and 
behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of 
Hudson Bay and Davis Strait, whilst we are looking for them 
beneath the Arctic Circle, we hear that they have pierced into 
the opposite region of polar cold, that they are at the antipodes 
and engaged under the frozen Serpent of the south. Falkland 
Island ... is but a stage and resting place in the progress of 
their victorious industry. 

Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them than 
the accumulated winter of both poles. ^Ve know that whilst 
some of them draw the line and strike the harpoon on the 
coast of Africa, others run the longitude and pursue their 
gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea but what is 
vexed by their fisheries. No climate that is not witness to their 
toils. Neither the perseverance of Holland nor the activity of 
France nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enter- 
prise ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy industry to 
the extent to which it has been pushed by this recent people 
— a ])eople who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not 
yet hardened into the bone of manhood. 

When I contemplate these things ; when I know that the 
colonies in general owe little^ or nothing to any care of ours, 
antl that they are not squeezed into this happy form by the 
constraints of watchful and suspicious government, but that 
through a wise and salutary neglect a generous nature has 
been suffered to take her own way to perfection ; when I 
reflect upon these efiects, when I see how profitable they have 
been to us, I feel all the pride of power sink, and all the pre- 
sumption in the wisdom of human contrivance melt and die 
away within me. My rigor relents. I pardon something to the 
spirit of liberty. . . . 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 63 1 

The following extracts from the diary of a refugee, 
Samuel Curwen, a gentleman of means and position, 
who had left Salem, Massachusetts, for England at the 
beginning of the Revolution, may be taken as a type of 
the widespread distress of the Loyalists. It is interest- 
ing to observe that, Tory as he was, Englishmen to him 
were " aliens," and America "my country" ; and that he 
acknowledges that he was proud of his fellow-country- 
men when the Americans showed lenity to a captured 
English general. 

London, my favorite place of abode, is, as the peasant said, 385. Extracts 

" a sad lickpenny," and truly one cannot breathe the vital air *™™ ^^^ 

■ 1 rr^, 1 • • 1 diary of a 

Without great expense. The numerous applications to the Tory refugee 

treasury by Americans whose pretensions are so much beyond 

mine, exclude the most distant hope of relief for me, should June 6, 1776 

inadvertence or more unjustifiable principles of conduct reduce 

me to the necessity of asking a favor which I am determined 

at all events to defer to the longest period, if it please the 

great disposer of events to prolong my uneasy abode in this 

country of aliens for many days yet to come. . . . 

I find my finances so visibly lessening that I wish I could June 10, 1776 
remove from this expensive country, (being heartily tired of 
it,) and, old as I am, would gladly enter into a business con- 
nection anywhere consistently with decency and integrity, which 
I would fain preserve. The use of the property I left behind 
rne I fear I shall never be the better for ; little did I expect 
from affluence to be reduced to such rigid economy as pru- 
dence now exacts. To beg is a meanness I wish never to be 
reduced to, and to starve is stupid ; one comfort, as I am fast 
declining into the vale of life, my miseries cannot probably be 
of long continuance. . . . 

By a letter from Mr. Danforth I was informed some of my October 31, 
countrymen were about to apply to the administration for relief. '776 
As my residence has been much longer than the most, and the 
suddenness of my departure from home rendering it morally 
impossible for me to become possessed of much money, and 



632 Readings in English History 

my pretensions, for aught I know, being as good as any and 
better than many, I presume I shall not be the only exile left 
in a forlorn condition if any provision be made ; and if never 
made, forlorn I shall truly be, my finances every day very sen- 
sibly lessening. Had I received Mr. Deberdt's letter in time 
I should have returned to London, but it was otherwise ; and 
if my presence now can be dispensed with, it will be more 
agreeable, as I live pleasantly enough among a few acquaint- 
ances, at the rate of twenty guineas a year, in a state of rigid 
economy that I never before was reduced to the necessity of 
putting in practice. . . . 
December 31, My little bark is in imminent hazard of being stranded, 
'''''^ unless the wind shifts quickly or some friendly boat appears 

for its relief. In plain English, my purse is nearly empty ; 
which circumstance has of late frequently reminded me of 
an emblematical device in the beginning of Fuller's History 
of the Holy Wars, wherein on the right is a purse distended 
with gold and standing upright, on the left the same turned 
upside down, in a lank condition, emptied wholly of its con- 
tents, with these words under the former, " We went out full," 
and under the latter, "We returned empty." I do not know 
but I am departed from my country, family, and friends on 
as foolish and fantastic grounds as the misguided devotees of 
that time did to rescue the Holy Land from infidels, though 
on opposite principles I confess, — they to fight, I to avoid 
fighting. I now begin to tremble lest the same fate awaits me 
that befell them. I dislike the motives of the chief agents in 
America, and their whole system from its first small beginnings 
to its full monstrous growth of independency ; and I trust 
from .a very just motive, love of my country, which this place, 
I am convinced, has no tendency to promote the welfare of. 
But what of that? It is my duty, and sure the state is not to 
reward the loyalty of every subject ; the court i'l this case 
would have more than enough to do to satisfy the demands 
of all claimants. I cannot foresee what I may hereafter do, 
but easily that I must suffer hunger and nakedness in the 
comfortless mansions of the wretched. These ideas I have not 
been accustomed to associate. . . . 



Industrial, Avierican, mid French Revolutions 633 

I received a letter from London informing me of my wife's Exeter, 

health and welfare in November last, and that she had been March 7, 

1777 
obliged to pay ten pounds sterling to find a man for the 

American army in my stead. . . . 

Walked out to Judge Sewall's, he having the day before en- March 10, 
gaged to accompany me to the treasury, where, after a compli- ''''''' 
ment, I received information of a hundred pounds down and 
a hundred per annum during the troubles in America, which I 
esteem as a providential provision procured by the friendship 
of my respected friend Judge Sewall. I received an order on 
the Bank; accompanied by him and Mr. Thomas Danforth, I 
took a note at the cashier's office for seventy pounds payable 
to myself on demand, and thirty pounds in cash, departing 
very joyous, and, I hope, grateful to that Being who has, by 
friends, been pleased in the midst of gloomy prospects to set 
my feet on firm ground and establish my goings : may I wisely 
improve this gracious indulgence. . . . 

The lenity shown to General Burgoyne and his army is December 31, 
allowed on all hands to do more honor to America than the ^'^'^'^ 
laurels reaped by the Howes can bring to this distracted 
country. God knows what is for the best, but I fear our per- 
petual banishment from America is written in the book of fate ; 
nothing but the hopes of once more revisiting my native soil, 
enjoying my own friends within my own little domain, has 
hitherto supported my drooping courage ; but that prop taken 
away leaves me in a condition too distressing to think of; 
however, amidst the increasing evils of old age, I have this 
consolation, that, mortifying as my lot is, severe as my suffer- 
ings may be, their continuance cannot be lasting. . . . 

The following passages from the correspondence of 
George III with the prime minister, Lord North, will 
show how closely he watched current events, especially 
the contest with America, how long he resisted any 
thought of concession, and the pressure he brought on 
Lord North to retain his position and continue the policy 
of coercion of the colonies. The close dating of some of 



386. Extracts 
from the 
letters of 
George III to 
Lord North 
(1768-1783) 



634 Readings in English History 

the letters, to the very minute, is characteristic of the 
painstaking but petty habits of mind of the king. 

Lord North : 

Though entirely confiding in your attachment to my person, 
as well as in your hatred of every lawless proceeding, yet I 
think it highly proper to apprize you that the expulsion of Mr. 
Wilkes appears to be very essential, and must be effected ; 
and that I make no doubt, when you lay this affair with your 
usual precision before the meeting of the gentlemen of the 
House of Commons this evening, it will meet with the re- 
quired unanimity and vigour. . . . 
April 25, 176S If there is any man capable of forgetting his criminal writ- 
ings, I think his speech in the Court of King's Bench, on 
Wednesday last, reason enough for to go as far as possible to 
expel him ; for he declared " Number 45 " a paper that the 
author ought to glory in. 

Six years after the Wilkes affair we find the king en- 
gaged in the rising conflict with the American colonies. 



Lord North : 

I am not sorry that the line of conduct seems now chalked 
out, which the enclosed dispatches thoroughly justify; the 
New England governments are in a state of rebellion ; blows 
must decide whether they are to be subject to this country 
or independent. 

Lord North : 

The proposed answer to the address is highly proper, as it 
conveys the sentiments that must be harboured by every candid 
and rational mind. This language ought to open the eyes of 
the deluded Americans ; but, if it does not, it must set every 
delicate man at liberty to avow the propriety of the most 
coercive measures. 

November 4, I trust the rebel army will soon be dispersed. 

1776 

February 24, The accounts from America are most comfortable. The 

'^'m surprise and want of spirit of the Hessian officers as well as 



November 

18, 1774, 

48 min. p't M. 



February 8, 
1775, 50 min. 
p't II A.M. 



Industrial, Americaji, ajid French Revolutions 635 

soldiers at Trenton is not much to their credit, and will un- 
doubtedly elate the rebels who, till then, were in a state of 
the greatest despondency. I wish Sir W. Howe had placed 
none but British troops in the outposts ; but I am certain, by a 
letter I have seen from Lord Cornwallis, that the rebels will 
soon have sufificient reason to fall into the former dejection. 

The intelligence from Mr. Thornton of the discontents March 6, 1778 
among the leaders in America, if authentick, will not only 
greatly facilitate the bringing back that deluded country to 
some reasonable ideas, but will make France reconsider 
whether she ought to enter into a war when America may 
leave her in the lurch. 

You cannot be surprised that the degree to which you have March 26, 
pressed to resign during the space of the last three months has '778 
given me much uneasiness, but it has never made me harbour 
any thought to the disadvantage of your worth. 

I am not surprised Lord North feels disgusted at the fatigue March 8, 1781 
he undergoes : he may be certain I feel my task as unpleasant 
as he can possibly find his, but both of us are in trammels, and 
it is our duty to continue. 

On one material point I shall ever coincide with Lord G. January 21, 
Germain, that is, against a separation from America, and that ^'^ 
I shall never lose an opportunity of declaring that no consid- 
eration shall ever make me in the smallest degree an instru- 
ment in a measure that I am confident would annihilate the 
rank in which this British Empire stands among the European 
states, and would render my situation in this country below 
continuing an object to me. 

Lord North cannot be disappointed at my being much hurt February 28, 
at che success of Mr. Conway's motion, though in some degree '782 
prepared by what he said yesterday. 

Lord North may easily conceive that I am much hurt at the March 9, 1782 
appearance of yesterday in the House of Commons, and at his 
opinion that it is totally impossible for the present ministry to 
continue to conduct public business any longer. 



636 



Readings in EnglisJi History 



March 20, 
1782 



Lord North : 
March 19, After having yesterday in the most solemn manner assured 

'^^'^^ you that my sentiments of honour will not permit me to send 

for any of the leaders of opposition and personally treat with 
them, I could not but be hurt at your letter of last night. 
Every man must be the" sole judge of his feelings ; therefore 
whatever you or any man can say on that subject has no avail 
with me. 

Lord North : 

At last the fatal day hag come which the misfortunes of the 
time and the sudden change of sentiments of the House of 
Commons have drove me to, of changing the ministry. ... I 
ever did and ever shall look on you as a friend as well as a 
faithful servant. ... /--. n 

General Conw^ay's motion, referred to by the king in 
his letter of February 28 to Lord North, was a reso- 
lution passed by the House of Commons, after receiv- 
ing news of the defeat at Yorktown, protesting against 
any further effort on the part of the English govern- 
ment to put down the revolt of the American colonies. 
The king, under pressure of military defeat in America 
and parliamentary defeat in England, was thus forced 
to an acknowledgment of American independence, the 
policy which he had so long resisted, but which he 
thereafter carried out loyally, as he declared in the 
following speech to parliament at its opening session 
in December, 1782. 

387. The My Lords and Gentlemen : 

king's speech Since the close of the last session I have employed my whole 

^Dec^emb"^? time in that care and attention which the important and crit- 

1782) ical conjuncture of affairs required of me. 

I lost no time in giving the necessary orders to prohibit the 
further prosecution of offensive war upon the continent of 
North America. Adopting, as my inclination wall always lead 



Industrial, American, and French Revolntioiis 637 

me to do, with decision and effect, whatever I collect to be 
the sense of my parliament and my people, I have pointed 
all my views and measures, as well in Europe as in North 
America, to an entire and cordial reconciliation with those 
colonies. 

Finding it indispensable to the attainment of this object, I Acknowiedg- 
did not hesitate to go the full length of the powers vested in "i^"* °f '"'i^" 
me, and offered to declare them free and independent states, 
by an article to be inserted in the treaty of peace. Provisional 
articles are agreed upon, to take effect whenever terms of peace 
shall be finally settled with the court of France. 

In thus admitting their separation from the crown of these 
kingdoms, I have sacrificed every consideration of my own to 
the wishes and opinion of my people. I make it my humble 
and earnest prayer to Almighty God that Great Britain may 
not feel the evils which might result from so great a dismem- 
berment of the empire; and that America may be free from 
those calamities which have formerly proved in the mother 
country how essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of con- 
stitutional liberty. Religion, language, interest, affections 
may, and I hope will, yet prove a bond of permanent union 
between the two countries : to this end, neither attention nor 
disposition on my part shall be wanting. . . . 

The first minister from the new independent govern- 
ment in America presented himself two years later, in 
June, 1785. The circumstances are told in the follow- 
ing letter from John Adams, the American minister, to 
John Jay, the American secretary of state. 

At one on Wednesday the master of ceremonies called at 388. Presen- 
my house, and went with me to the secretary of state's office, tationof the 
in Cleveland Row, where the marquis of Carmarthen received can minister 
me and introduced me to his undersecretary, Mr. Fraser, who to the king 
has been, as his lordship told me, uninterruptedly in that office, of England 
through all the changes in administration, for thirty years, 1.^85) 
having first been appointed by the earl of Holderness. After 
a short conversation upon the subject of importing my effects 



638 Readjjigs in English History 

from Holland and France free of duty, which Mr. Fraser him- 
self introduced, Lord Carmarthen invited me to go with him 
in his coach to court. When we arrived in the antechamber, 
the ocil de been/ of St. James', the master of ceremonies met 
me and attended me, while the secretary of state went to take 
the commands of the king. 

While I stood in this place, where it seems all ministers 
stand on such occasions, always attended by the master of 
ceremonies, the room very full of ministers of state, lords, 
and bishops, and all sorts of courtiers, as well as the next 
room, which is the king's bedchamber, you may well suppose 
I was the focus of all eyes. I was relieved, however, from the 
embarrassment of it by the Swedish and Dutch ministers, who 
came to me and entertained me in a very agreeable conversa- 
tion during the whole time. Some other gentlemen whom I 
had seen before came to make their compliments, too, until 
the marquis of Carmarthen returned and desired me to ^go 
with him to his Majesty. 

I went with his lordship through the lev^e room into the 
king's closet. The door w^as shut, and I was left with his 
Majesty and the secretary of state alone. I made the three 
reverences, — one at the door, another about halfway, and a 
third before the presence, — according to the usage estab- 
lished at this and all the northern courts of Europe, and then 
addressed myself to his Majesty in the following words : 

" Sir : 
Address of " The United States of America have appointed me their 

the minister iiijnister plenipotentiary to your Majesty, and have directed 
me to deliver to your Majesty this letter which contains the 
evidence of it. It is in obedience to their express commands 
that I have the honor to assure your Majesty of their unani- 
mous disposition and desire to cultivate the most friendly 
and liberal intercourse between your Majesty's subjects and 
their citizens, and of their best wishes for your Majesty's 
health and happiness and for that of your royal family. The 
appointment of a minister from the United States to your 
Majesty's court will form an epoch in the history of England 



to the king 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 639 

and of America. I think myself more fortunate than all my 
fellow-citizens in having the distinguished honor to be the 
first to stand in your Majesty's royal presence in a diplomatic 
character ; and I shall esteem myself the happiest of men if I 
can be instrumental in recommending my country more and 
more to your Majesty's royal benevolence, and of restoring 
an entire esteem, confidence, and affection, or, in better words, 
the old good nature and the old good humor between people, 
who, though separated by an ocean, and under different gov- 
ernments, have the same language, a similar religion, and kin- 
dred blood. 

"I beg your Majesty's permission to add that, .although I 
have some time before been intrusted by my country, it was 
never in my whole life in a manner more agreeable to myself." 

The king listened to every word I said with dignity but 
with an apparent emotion. Whether it was the nature of the 
interview, or whether it was my visible agitation, for I felt 
more than I did or could express, that touched him, I cannot 
say. But he was much affected, and answered me with more 
tremor than I had spoken with, and said : 

" Sir : 

" The circumstances of this audience are so extraordinary. The king's 
the language you have now held is so extremely proper, and 8^'^^^^ ""^P^y 
the feelings you have discovered so justly adapted to the 
occasion, that I must say that I not only receive with pleasure 
the assurance of the friendly dispositions of the United States, 
but that I am very glad the choice has fallen upon you to be 
their minister. I wish you, sir, to believe, and that it may be 
understood in America, that I have done nothing in the late 
contest but what I thought myself indispensably bound to do, 
by the duty which I owed to my people. 

" I will be very frank with you. I was the last to consent to 
the separation ; but the separation having been made, and 
having become inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, 
that I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United 
States as an independent power. The moment I see such 
sentiments and language as yours prevail, and a disposition 



640 Readings in English History 

to give to this country the preference, that moment I shall 
say, let the circumstances of language, religion, and blood 
have their natural and full effect." 

I dare not say that these were the king's precise words, 
and it is even possible that I may have in some particular 
mistaken his meaning ; for although his pronunciation is as 
distinct as I ever heard, he hesitated some time between his 
periods, and between the members of the same period. He 
was indeed much affected, and I confess I was not less so, 
and therefore I cannot be certain that I was so cool and atten- 
tive, heard so clearly, and understood so perfectly, as to be 
confident of all his words or sense ; and I think that all which 
he said to me should at present be kept secret in America, 
unless his Majesty or his secretary of state, who alone was 
present, should judge proper to report it. This I do say, that 
the foregoing is his Majesty's meaning, as I then understood 
it, and his own words, as nearly as I can recollect them. 



V. Dissatisfaction with the Government 

The loss of the American colonies reacted strongly 
on the political conditions in England. One of the first 
indications of this v^as the passage in the House of 
Commons in 1780 of the resolutions referred to in the 
following description. Although apparently not immedi- 
ately applicable, they were directed against the whole 
fabric of the government of George III and the ministers 
whom he had chosen. They were adopted by a vote of 
233 to 215. 

389. A dis- On the 6th of April the House of Commons resolved itself 

cussion in jj^|.q ^ committee, in order to take the petitions of the people 
the House . . , . , , . . • . , 

of Commons "^^^ consideration ; and on this occasion a very important 

(April 6, debate took place concerning the influence of the crowTi. The 

^■^^"^ titles of the petitions were previously read, and they amounted 

to forty in number. 



Industrial, Avierican, and French Revobctions 641 

The debate was opened by Mr. Dunning, who observed 
that there were two great objects which the petitions recom- 
mended to the care and attention of parliament : these were 
a reduction of the dangerous, alarming, and increasing influ- 
ence of the crown, and an economical expenditure of the 
public money. Little had yet been done in compliance with 
the requisitions of the people. . . . 

As so little had hitherto been done towards complying with 
the petitions of the people, he thought it absolutely necessary 
that parliament should come to a clear and explicit conclu- 
sion on the subject ; and that in the present session it should 
be plainly demonstrated to the people that their petitions 
would either be granted or rejected. He hoped that he should 
be able to effectuate this, and with this view he had framed 
such propositions as would produce, either directly or by clear 
implication, that information. . . . 

I. " That it is the opinion of this committee that it is neces- 390. Mr. 

sary to declare that the influence of the crown has increased, l^"'iiii°g's 
. . . 1 1 1 T • ■ , I resolutions 

IS mcreasmg, and ought to be dmimished. 

II. " That it is competent to this House to examine into 
and to correct abuses in the expenditure of the civil list 
revenues, as well as in every other branch of the public reve- 
nue, whenever it shall appear expedient to the wisdom of this 
House so to do." 

The Gordon riots, as described in the following pas- 
sages, are not so much an instance of opposition to the 
policy of the ministry as they are, like the Wilkes affair, 
an indication of the breach between the masses of the 
people and all branches of the government. 

Lord North, who had presided during ten years at the head 391. Extracts 
of the administration, continued, in the spring of 1780, to * rom Wrax- 
struggle with the utmost difificulty through the sixth session oirs 
of parliament, against a numerous and augmenting opposition 
in both houses. His resignation, anxiously anticipated, seemed 
to be inevitable, and even imminent ; but the ministerial dis- 
graces, as well as the triumphs of the adverse party, were 



642 Readings in English History 

equally obliterated in a calamity which for the time of its 
duration absorbed all attention. I mean the riots of June, 
1780. No event in our annals bears any analogy with the 
scene then exhibited in the capital, except the fire of London 
under Charles the Second. . . . 
Attack on the I was personally present at many of the most tremendous 
house of Lord efEects of the popular fury, on the memorable 7th of June, the 
night on which it attained its highest point. About nine 
o'clock on that evening, accompanied by three other gentle- 
men, who, as well as myself, were alarmed at the accounts 
brought in every moment of the outrages committed and of 
the still greater acts of violence meditated as soon as dark- 
ness should favor and facilitate their further progress, we set 
out from Portland Place in order to view the scene. Having 
got into a hackney coach,' we drove to Bloomsbury Square, 
attracted to that spot by a rumour, generally spread, that 
Lord Mansfield's residence, situate at the northeast corner, was 
either already burnt or destined for destruction. Hart Street 
and Great Russell Street presented each to the view as we 
passed large fires composed of furniture taken from the houses 
of magistrates or other obnoxious individuals. Quitting the 
coach, we crossed the square, and had scarcely got under the 
wall of Bedford House when we heard the door of Lord 
Mansfield's house burst open with violence. In a few minutes 
all the contents of the apartments, being precipitated from the 
windows, were piled up and wrapt in flames. A file of foot 
soldiers arriving, drew up near the blazing pile, but without 
either attempting to quench the fire or to impede the mob, 
who were indeed far too numerous to admit of their being dis- 
persed or even intimidated by a small detachment of infantry. 
The populace remained masters, while we, after surveying the 
spectacle for a short time, moved on into Holborn, where Mr. 
Langdale's dwelling house and warehouses afforded a more 
appalling picture of devastation. ... In front had assembled an 
immense multitude of both sexes, many of whom were females, 
and not a few held infants in their arms. All appeared to be, 
like ourselves, attracted as spectators solely by curiosity, with- 
out taking any part in the acts of violence. . . . 



Industrial, American, and Fj-cncli Revolutions 643 

I would in vain attempt adequately to describe the spec- Rioting in the 
tacle which presented itself when we reached the declivity of "^^ 
the hill, close to St. Andrews Church, The other house and 
magazines of Mr. Langdale, who, as a Catholic, had been 
selected for the blind vengeance of the mob, situated in the 
hollow near the north end of Fleet Market, threw up into 
the air a pinnacle of flame resembling a volcano. Such was 
the beautiful and brilliant effect of the illumination that St. 
Andrews Church appeared to be almost scorched by the heat 
of so prodigious a body of fire ; and the figures on the clock 
were as distinctly discernible as at noonday. 

Finding it altogether impracticable to force our way further 
down Holborn Hill, and hearing that the Fleet prison had been 
set on fire, we penetrated through a number of narrow lanes 
behind St. Andrews Church, and presently found ourselves 
in the middle of Fleet Market. Here the same destruction 
raged, but in a different stage of its progress. Mr. Langdale's 
houses were already at the height of their demolition : the 
Fleet prison, on the contrary, was only beginning to blaze, 
and the sparks or flaming particles that filled the air fell so 
thick upon us on every side as to render unsafe its immediate 
vicinity. Meanwhile we began to hear the platoons discharged 
on the other side of the river, towards St. George's Fields, 
and were informed that a considerable number of the rioters 
had been killed on Blackfriars Bridge, which was occupied 
by the troops. On approaching it we beheld the King's Bench 
prison completely wrapt in flames. It exhibited a sublime sight. 

Sir Samuel Romilly was one of the most high-minded, 
patriotic, and useful public men of his time. What he 
tells in his journal of his difficulty in obtaining and keep- 
ing a seat in the House of Commons, and what appears 
in the two letters from Francis Horner to him and to 
Sydney Smith, throws a strong light on the bad methods 
of election of members of parliament, on its failure to 
represent the people of the country, and on the oppor- 
tunities for corruption it offered. These extracts refer 



644 



Readings in EiiglisJi History 



to a period somewhat later than 1784, when Pitt strove 
to introduce the reform of parhament, but the condi- 
tions were just the same at that time, and in fact had 
long been so, and remained unchanged well into the 
nineteenth century. 



392. Extracts 
from the 
memoirs of 
Sir Samuel 
Romilly 



June 27, 1807 



The king 
interested in 
the purchase 
of seats for 
members 
favorable to 
the ministry 



I shall procure myself a seat in the new parliament, unless 
I find that it will cost so large a sum, as, in the state of my 
family, it would be very imprudent for me to devote to such 
an object, which I find is very likely to be the case. Tierney, 
who manages this business for the friends of the late administra- 
tion, assures me that he can hear of no seats to be disposed of. 

After a parliament which has lived little more than four 
months, one would naturally suppose that those seats which 
are regularly sold by the proprietors of them would be very 
cheap ; they are, however, in fact, sold now at a higher price 
than was ever given for them before. Tierney tells me that he 
has offered ^10,000 for the two seats of Westbury, the prop- 
erty of the late Lord Abingdon, and which are to be made the 
most of by trustees for creditors, and has met with a refusal. 
;^6ooo and ^^5500 have been given for seats with no stipula- 
tion as to time, or against the event of a speedy dissolution by 
the king's death or by any change of administration. 

The truth is, that the new ministers have bought up all the 
seats that were to be disposed of, and at any prices. Amongst 

others. Sir C. H. —, the gi;eat dealer in boroughs, has sold 

all he had to ministers. With what money all this is done I 
know not, but it is supposed that the king, who has greatly 
at heart to preserve this new administration, the favorite ob- 
jects of his choice, has advanced a very large sum out of his 
privy purse. 

This buying of seats is detestable ; and yet it is almost the 
only way in which one in my situation, who is resolved to be 
an independent man, can get into parliament. To come in by 
a popular election, in the present state of the representation, 
is quite impossible ; to be placed there by some great lord, and 
to vote as he shall direct, is to be in a state of complete 



Industrial, Avieriam, and FrcncJi Revolutions 645 

dependence ; and nothing hardly remains but to owe a seat to 
the sacrifice of a part of one's fortune. 

It is true that many men who buy seats do it as a matter of Existing 
pecuniary speculation, as a profitable way of employing their corruption 
money : they carry on a political trade ; they buy their seats 
and sell their votes. For myself, I can truly say that, by giving 
money for a seat, I shall make a sacrifice of my private prop- 
erty, merely that I may be enabled to serve the public. I know 
what danger there is of men's disguising from themselves the 
real motives of their actions ; but it really does appear to me 
that it is from this motive alone that I act. 

After almost despairing of being able to get any seat in par- May 9, 1S08 
liament, my friend Piggott has at last procured me one ; and 
the duke of Norfolk has consented to bring me in for Horsham. 
It is, however, but a precarious seat. I shall be returned, as I 
shall have a majority of votes, which the late committee of the 
House of Commons decided to be good ones ; but there will 
be a petition against the return, by the candidates who will 
stand on Lady Irwin's interest, and it is extremely doubtful 
what will be the event of the petition. . . . 

The terms upon which I have my seat at Horsham will be May 12, 1808 
best explained by a letter I wrote to Piggott to-day after the 
election was over, and which I am glad to keep a copy of. It 
is (at least so much of it as relates to this subject) in these 
words : " Though there is no danger that I should have misun- 
derstood you, yet it may be as well to say, while it is fresh in 
both our recollections, what I understand to be the extent of 
my engagement. If I keep the seat, either by the decision of 
a committee upon a petition, or by a compromise (the duke 
and Lady Irwin returning one member each, in which case it 
is understood that I am to be the member who continues), I 
am to pay ^2000 ; if, upon a petition, I lose the seat, I am 
not to be at any expense." 

The two letters which follow tell the same story, one 
of the loss of a pocket borough, by the writer, Francis 
Horner ; the other, the failure of Romilly to be elected 
in Bristol, a borough of a very limited franchise. His 



646 



Readings in English History 



393. Francis 
Horner to 
Sydney 
Smith (Octo- 
ber II, l8l2) 



394. Francis 
Homer to Sir 
Samuel 
Romilly 
(October 15, 
1812) 



friend Horner urges him to secure membership through 
a close borough, which, as has been seen, lie had done 
in a previous session of parliament. 

My dear Sydney : 

I received your letter at Taunton the other day, where I was 
attending the sessions. . . . 

As to parliament, I have no seat, because Lord Carrington, 
to whom I owed my last, has to provide for a nephew who has 
come of age since the last election, as well as for his son-in- 
law, who, being abroad, loses his seat for Hull ; and because 
I have not money or popularity of my own to obtain a seat in 
the regular and desirable way. I need not own to you, for you 
would guess as much, that it is some mortification to me to be 
thrown out of the course, and that I shall indulge myself with 
regretting that I shall no longer have the opportunity of trying 
to be useful in the immediate concerns of the public. . . . 

Fra. Horner. 
My dear Sir : 

I feel very painfully our disappointment at Bristol. What 
annoys me most at present is my uncertainty about your com- 
ing into parliament at all. I hope you will not decline a seat, 
if any of those who have boroughs should (as I cannot doubt 
they will) put it in your power. I know your objection to that 
mode of holding a seat in the House ; but as long as the rep- 
resentation continues on its actual footing, I cannot agree that 
a man who knows that he can^erve the public ought to refuse 
that opportunity of serving them. While I take so great a free- 
dom as to express this to you, from my earnest anxiety to see 
you again in the House of Commons, I can at the same time 
assure you that I should not hold this opinion if I entertained 
the least doubt that such a step could in any degree affect 
your public or parliamentary reputation. I shall regard it as 
one of the greatest public losses, if you are not in the House this 
parliament ; I trust you will not, by refusing a close borough, 
compel us to impute that misfortune to yourself. Believe me, 
my dear sir, with much attachment. 

Very sincerely yours, 

Fra. Horner. 



Industrial, American, and Froich Revolutions 647 

VI. The French Revolution and the Wars of Napoleon 

The well-known essay by Burke, in the form of a 
letter to a French gentleman, from which the following 
extracts, are taken, represents the feeling of a great 
number of thoughtful men in England concerning the 
French Revolution. It should be said that Burke mis- 
understood and misjudged much of what was best in 
that great movement. 

Abstractedly speaking, government, as well as liberty, is 395. Extracts 
good : yet could I, in common sense, ten years ago, have *^°°^ Burke's 

ri--iT- 1 • r /ri Reflections 

felicitated 1* ranee on her enjoyment of a government (for she on the 
then had a government), without inquiry what the nature of ^^*"i\- 
the government was, or how it was administered ? Can I now 
congratulate the same nation upon its freedom? Is it because 
liberty in the abstract may be classed amongst the blessings of 
.mankind, that I am seriously to felicitate a madman, who has 
escaped from the protecting restraint and wholesome darkness 
of his cell, on his restoration to the enjoyment of light and 
liberty? Am I to congratulate a highwayman and murderer who 
has broken prison upon the recovery of his natural rights? . . . 

When I see the spirit of liberty in action, I see a strong Liberty is not 
principle at work ; and this, for a while, is all I can possibly ^|^^^y^ ^ 
know of it. The wild gas, the fixed air, is plainly broke loose ; 
but we ought to suspend our judgment until the first efferves- 
cence is a little subsided, till the liquor is cleared, and until 
we see something deeper than the agitation of a troubled, frothy 
surface. I must be tolerably sure, before I venture publicly to 
congratulate men upon a blessing, that they have really received 
one. Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver ; and 
adulation is not of more service to the people than to kings. 

I should therefore suspend my congratulations on the new The accom- 
liberty of France until I was informed how it was combined payments of 

. .... liberty 

with government, with public force, with the discipline and 
obedience of armies, with the collection of an effective and 
well-distributed revenue, with morality and religion, with so- 
lidity and property, with peace and order, with civil and social 



648 



Readings in English History 



Hereditary 
character of 
English 
liberty 



The French 
should have 
looked back t 
their earlier 
liberties 



manners. All these, in their way, are good things, too ; and 
without them liberty is not a benefit while it lasts, and is not 
likely to continue long. The effect of liberty to individuals is 
that they may do what they please : we ought to see what it 
will please them to do, before we risk congratulations, which 
may soon be turned into complaints. 

Prudence would dictate this in the case of separate, insu- 
lated, private men. But liberty, when men act in bodies, is 
power. Considerate people, before they declare themselves, 
will observe the use which is made of power, and particularly 
of so trying a thing as new power in new persons, of whose 
principles, tempers, and dispositions they have little or no ex- 
perience, and in situations where those who appear the most 
stirring in the scene may not possibly be the real movers. 

You will observe that, from Magna Charta to the Declaration 
of Rights, it has been the uniform policy of our constitution 
to claim and assert our liberties as an entailed inheritance 
derived to us from our forefathers, and to be transmitted to our 
posterity, as an estate specially belonging to the people of this 
kingdom, without any reference whatever to any other more 
general or prior right. By this means our constitution pre- 
serves an unity in so great a diversity of its parts. We have an 
inheritable crown, an inheritable peerage, and a House of Com- 
mons, and a people inheriting privileges, franchises, and liberties 
from a long line of ancestors. 

This policy appears to me to be the result of profound re- 
flection, — or rather the happy effect of following Nature, which 
is wisdom without reflection and above it. A spirit of innova- 
tion is generally the result of a selfish temper and confined 
views. People will not look forward to posterity, who never 
look backward to their ancestors. . . . 

Would it not, my worthy friend, have been wiser to have 
you thought, what I for one always thought you, a generous 
and gallant nation, long misled to your disadvantage by your 
high and romantic sentiments of fidelity, honor, and loyalty ; 
that events had been unfavorable to you, but that you were not 
enslaved through any illiberal or servile disposition; that, in 
your most devoted submission, you were actuated by a principle 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 649 

of public spirit ; and that it was your country you worshiped, 
in the person of your king? Had you made it to be under- 
stood that, in the dekision of this amiable error, you had gone 
further than your wise ancestors, — that you were resolved 
to resume your ancient privileges, whilst you preserved the 
spirit of your ancient and your recent loyalty and honor ; or, Or copied 
if diffident of yourselves, and not clearly discerning the almost ^'^°*f °^ 

, . . r , J , , , England 

obliterated constitution of your ancestors, you had looked to 
your neighbors in this land, who had kept alive the ancient 
principles and models of the old common law of Europe, 
meliorated and adapted to its present state, — by following 
wise examples you would have given new examples of wisdom 
to the world. 

You would have rendered the cause of liberty venerable in The possibil- 
the eyes of every worthy mind in every nation. You would '*^'^^ °5 '^^^°''™ 

1 1 1 • r 1 111- 1 r that the 

have shamed despotism from the earth by showing that free- French have 
dom was not only reconcilable but, as when well disciplined disregarded 
it is, auxiliary to law. You would have had an unoppressive 
but a productive revenue. You would have had a flourishing 
commerce to feed it. You would have had a free constitution, 
a potent monarchy, a disciplined army, a reformed and ven- 
erated clergy, a mitigated but spirited nobility, to lead your 
virtue, not to overlay it ; you would have had a liberal order 
of commons to emulate and recruit that nobility ; you would 
have had a protected, satisfied, laborious, and obedient people, 
taught to seek and to recognize the happiness that is to be 
found by virtue in all conditions, in which consists the true 
moral equality of mankind, and not in that monstrous fiction 
which, by inspiring false ideas and vain expectations into men 
destined to travel in the obscure walk of laborious life, serves 
only to aggravate and embitter that real inequality which it 
never can remove, and which the order of civil life establishes 
as much for the benefit of those whom it must leave in an 
humble state as those whom it is able to exalt to a condition 
more splendid but not more happy. . . . 

It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen A poetic 
of France, then the dauphiness, at Versailles ; and surely never P'cture of 
lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more France 



650 Readings in English History 

delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating 
and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move 
in, — glittering like the morning star, full of life and splendor 
and joy. Oh ! what a revolution ! And what an heart I must 
have, to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that 
fall ! Little did I dream, when she added titles of veneration 
to those of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, that she should 
ever be obliged to carry the sharp antidote against disgrace 
concealed in that bosom ! Little did I dream that I should 
have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of 
gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers ! 
I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their 
scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. 
A lament But the age of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, econo- 

for chivalry nijg|.g^ ^^^ calculators has succeeded ; and the glory of Europe 
is extinguished forever. Never, never more shall we behold 
that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, 
that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart, which 
kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted 
freedom ! The unbought grace of life, the cheap defense of 
nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is 
gone ! It is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of 
honor, which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired cour- 
age whilst it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it 
touched, and under which vice itself lost half its evil by losing 
all its grossness ! 

The acts which were passed in 1800 in the parlia- 
ments of Great Britain and Ireland respectively, provid- 
ing for a legislative union of the two countries, were 
quite similar to the acts which had united England and 
Scotland about a hundred years before. The following 
are the most important sections of the British act. 

Article L That it be the first article of the union of the king- 
doms of Great Britain and Ireland, that the said kingdoms of 
Great Britain and Ireland shall, upon the first day of January 
which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 



Industrial^ American, and French Revolutions 651 

hundred and one, and forever after, be united into one king- 396. Act of 
dom, by the name of The United Kingdom of Great Britain Union be- 
and Ireland ; and that the royal title and titles appertaining Britain and 
to the imperial crown of the said united kingdom and its de- Ireland 
pendencies, and also the ensigns, armorial flags, and banners ^\X ^^' 
thereof, shall be such as his Majesty, by his royal-proclamations 
under the great seal of the united kingdom, shall be pleased 
to appoint. 

Article II. That it be the second article of union, that the 
succession to the imperial crown of the said united kingdom, 
and of the dominions thereunto belonging, shall continue lim- 
ited and settled in the same manner as the succession to the 
imperial crown of the said kingdoms of Great Britain and Ire- 
land now stands limited and settled, according to the existing 
laws, and to the terms of union between England and Scotland. 

Article III. That it be the third article of union, that the One parlia- 
said united kingdom be represented in one and the same par- '"^"^ 
liament, to be styled The Parliament of the United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland. 

Article IV. That it be the fourth article of union, that four Thirty-two 
lords spiritual of Ireland by rotation of sessions, and twenty- ^"^'^ ^°^^^ 
eight lords temporal of Ireland elected by the peers of Ireland, jred Irish 
shall be the number to sit and vote on the part of Ireland in commoners 
the House of Lords of the parliament of the united kingdom : *° ?'* '" *^^ 

^ D J united par- 

and one hundred commoners (two for each county of Ireland, liament 
two for the city of Dublin, two for the city of Cork, one for 
the university of Trinity College, and one for each of the 
thirty-one most considerable cities, towns, and boroughs) be 
the number to sit and vote on the part of Ireland in the House 
of Commons of the parliament of the united kingdom. 

The English government had encouraged the slave 
trade for more than two hundred years. It was there- 
fore only after a long agitation that the following law 
for its abolition was carried. 

Be it therefore enacted by the king's most excellent Majesty, 
by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and 



652 Readings in English History 

397. Act temporal and commons, in this present parliament assembled, 
abolishing ^y^^ \^y |-}^g authority of the same, that from and after the first 

the sIhvg 

trade (1806) '^^Y ^^ ^^7 ^^'^^ thousand eight hundred and seven, the Afri- 
can slave trade, and all and all manner of dealing and trading 
in the purchase, sale, barter, or transfer of slaves, or of persons 
intended to be sold, transferred, used, or dealt with as slaves, 
practiced or carried on, in, at, to, or from any part of the 
coast or countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby 
utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful; 
and also that all and all manner of dealing, either by way of 
purchase, sale, barter, or transfer, or by means of any other 
contract or agreement whatever, relating to any slaves, or to 
any persons intended to be used or dealt with as slaves, for 
the purpose of such slaves or persons being removed or trans- 
ported either immediately or by transshipment at sea or other- 
wise, directly or indirectly from Africa, or from any island; 
country, territory or any place whatever, in the West Indies, 
or in any other part of America, not being in the dominion, 
possession, or occupation of his Majesty, to any other island, 
country, territory, or place whatever, is hereby in like manner 
utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful. . . . 

Miss Burney, who was engaged at the court of George 
III, describes in her diary the first attack of insanity 
from which the king suffered. 

398. The in- The king at dinner had broken forth into positive delirium, 
sanity of which long had been menacing all who saw him most closely, 

and the queen was so overpowered as to fall into violent 
hysterics. . . . 

Mr. Fairly . . . came boldly up to him, and took him by 
the arm, and begged him to go to bed, and then drew him 
along, and said he must go. Then he said he would not, and 
cried, " Who are you? " " I am Mr, Fairly, sir," he answered ; 
"and your Majesty has been very good to me often, and now 
I am going to be very good to you, for you must come to bed, 
sir : it is necessary to your life." And then he was so sur- 
prised that he let himself be drawn along just like a child ; 
and so they got him to bed. . . . 



Industrial, American, and FrencJi Revolutions 653 

What an adventure had I this morning ! one that has occa- February 2 
sioned me the severest personal terror I ever experienced in 
my hfe. ... I strolled into the gardens. I had proceeded, in 
my quick way, nearly half the round, when I suddenly per- 
ceived, through some trees, two or three figures. Relying on 
the instructions of Dr. John, I concluded them to be workmen 
and gardeners ; yet tried to look sharp, and in so doing, as 
they were less shaded, I thought it was the person of his 
Majesty. 

Alarmed past all possible expression, I waited not to know A momentary 
more, but, turning back, ran off with all my might. But what y^^"""" °^ *^® 

' ' ° . king to sanity 

was my terror to hear myself pursued ! — to hear the voice of 
the king himself loudly and hoarsely calling after me, " Miss 
Burney ! Miss Burney ! " I protest I was ready to die. I knew 
not in what state he might be at the time ; I only knew the 
orders to keep out of his way were universal. . . . The steps 
still pursued me, and still the poor hoarse and altered voice 
rang in my ears, more and more footsteps resounded fright- 
fully behind me, — the attendants all running to catch their 
eager master, and the voices of the two Dr. Willises loudly 
exhorting him not to heat himself so unmercifully. 

Heavens, how I ran ! I do not think I should have felt 
the hot lava from Vesuvius — at least not the hot cinders — 
had I so run during its eruption. My feet were not sensible 
that they even touched the ground. Soon after, I heard other 
voices, shriller, though less nervous, call out " Stop ! stop ! 
stop ! " . . . I fairly believe no one of the whole party could 
have overtaken me, if these words from one of the attend- 
ants had not reached me, " Dr. Willis begs you to stop ! " 

" I cannot ! I cannot ! " I answered, still flying on, when 
he called out, " You must, ma'am ; it hurts the king to run." 
Then indeed I stopped — in a state of fear really amounting 
to agony. I turned round ; I saw the two doctors had got the 
king between them, and three attendants of Dr. Willis were 
hovering about. . . . When they were within a few yards of 
me, the king called out, " Why did you run away? " Shocked 
at a question impossible to answer, yet a little assured by the 
mild tone of his voice, I instantly forced myself forward, to 



654 Readings in English History 

meet him, though the internal sensation which satisfied me 
this was a step the most proper to appease his suspicions and 
displeasure was so violently combated by the tremor of my 
nerves that I fairly think I may reckon it the greatest effort of 
personal courage I have ever made. 

The effort answered ; I looked up, and met all his wonted 
benignity of countenance, though something still of wildness 
in his eyes. Think, however, of my surprise, to feel him put 
both his hands round my two shoulders and then kiss my 
cheek ! I wonder I did not really sink, so exquisite was my 
affright when I saw him spread out his arms ! Involuntarily, I 
concluded he meant to crush me. 

In the journal of Madame Papendieck we get another 
glimpse of the king during his insanity. It is curious 
to note that his thoughts still ran back twenty-five years 
to his greatest failure, the loss of the American colonies. 
The Prince of Wales, who is referred to so unfavorably 
in this journal, was already on bad terms with his father 
and mother. When the king's insanity became incurable, 
however, he was made regent, and so remained from 
1810 to 1820, when his father's death brought about his 
accession as George IV. 

399. Another The king was allowed pens, ink, and paper, and wrote down, 
account of ^s a sort of journal, every occurrence that took place, and 
insanity every conversation, as correctly as could be. 

Twice only was the king shaved between November and 
some time in January. My father, though principal barber 
(the title of his ;^300 a year place), was too nervous to under- 
take it. Mr. Papendieck, however, was ready. He begged 
the queen to have Palmer, the razor maker, down, that there 
might be no flaw or hitch in the instruments, and the razor 
well sharpened. This was done, and Mr. Papendieck suc- 
ceeded in clearing the two cheeks at one sitting, which, with 
the king's talking in between, was nearly a two hours' job. 
The queen, out of sight of the king, sat patiently to see it done, 



Industrial, American, and French Rcvohittons 655 

which was achieved without one drop of blood. The condi- 
tion of the queen was pitiable in the extreme. The first days 
of her terrible grief she passed almost entirely with her hands 
and arms stretched across a table before her, with her head 
resting upon them, and she took nothing to eat or drink 
except once or twice a little barley water. . . . Mr. Papen- 
dieck told me afterwards that the silence and gloom within 
the walls of the lodge was something terrible. . . . 

The conduct of the Prince of Wales was, during this season 
of affliction, very heartless. ... At first the queen could not 
make up her mind to see him. . . . When he began to enter 
upon political conversation, her Majesty said that the equerries 
and Miss Goldsworthy must be called to answer the prince, 
who, after being most severe, and knocking his stick several 
times upon the floor, while condemning the whole of what had 
been done, bowed and retired without kissing the queen's 
hand according to the usual custom. . . . 

His Majesty used to inquire who called, and on wishing to 
be told if Lord North had ever been, was answered in the 
affirmative. Then the king said : " He might have recollected 
me sooner. However, he, poor fellow, has lost his sight, and 
I my mind. Yet we meant well to the Americans ; just to 
punish them with a few bloody noses, and then to make bows 
for the mutual happiness of the two countries. But want of 
principle got into the army. . . . We lost America. Tell him 
not to call again ; I shall never see him." 

The following account of the famous signal of Nelson 
on board the Victory at the battle of Trafalgar, was 
given in a letter written by Captain Pascoe many years 
after the incident, but there is no reason to doubt its 
general correctness. 

His lordship came to me on the poop, and after ordering 400. Nelson's 
certain signals to be made, about, a quarter to noon he said : ?|^°^| ^* 
" Mr. Pascoe, I wish to say to the fleet, ' England confides 
that every man will do his duty ' " ; and he added, " You 
must be quick, for I have one more to make which is for close 



656 



Readmgs in English History 



401. A con- 
temporary 
estimate of 
Nelson 



action." I replied, "If your lordship will permit me to sub- 
stitute the word ' expects ' for ' confides,' the signal will sooner 
be completed, because the word ' expects ' is in the vocabu- 
lary, but the word 'confides' must be spelt." His lordship 
replied in haste, and with seeming satisfaction, " That will do, 
Pascoe ; make it directly." When it had been answered by a 
few ships in the van, he ordered me to make the signal for 
close action, and to keep it up ; accordingly I hoisted No. 1 6 at 
the topgallant masthead, and there it remained until shot away. 

The fame of Nelson, like that of other naval heroes, 
was of rapid grow^th, and the following extracts from 
an account of his victories gives some measure of this 
reputation at the time of his death at the battle of 
Trafalgar. 

All the honors which a grateful country could bestow were 
heaped upon the memory of Nelson. His brother was made 
an earl, with a grant of ;3^6ooo a year ; ;j^i 0,000 were voted 
to each of his sisters, and ^100,000 for the purchase of an 
estate. A pubhc funeral was decreed, and a common monu- 
ment. Statues and monuments also were voted by most of 
our principal cities. The leaden coffin in which he was brought 
home was cut in pieces, which were- distributed as " relics of 
St. Nelson " — so the gunner of the Victory called them ; and 
when at his interment his flag was about to be lowered into 
the grave, the sailors who assisted at the ceremony with one 
accord rent it in pieces, that each might preserve a fragment 
while he lived. 

The death of Nelson was felt in England as something more 
than a public calamity ; men started at the intelligence and 
turned pale, as if they had heard of the loss of a dear friend. 
An object of our admiration and affection, of our pride and of 
our hopes, was suddenly taken from us ; and it seemed as if 
we had never till then kno-^n how deeply we loved and rever- 
enced him. . . . 

The people of England grieved that funeral ceremonies, 
and public monuments, and posthumous rewards were all which 



Industrial^ American, and French Revohitions 657 

they could now bestow upon him whom the king, the legis- 
lature, and the nation would have alike delighted to honor ; 
whom every tongue would have blessed ; whose presence in 
every village through which he might have passed would have 
waked the church bells, have given schoolboys a holiday, have 
drawn children from their sports to gaze upon him, and old 
men from the chimney corner, to look upon Nelson ere they 
died. 

Yet he cannot be said to have fallen prematurely whose 
work was done, nor ought he to be lamented who died so full 
of honors and at the height of human fame. The most trium- 
phant death is that of the martyr ; the most awful that of the 
martyred patriot ; the most splendid that of the hero in the 
time of victory ; and if the chariot and horses of fire had been 
vouchsafed for Nelson's translation, he could scarcely have 
departed in a brighter blaze of glory. He has left us, not 
indeed his mantle of inspiration, but a name and an example 
which are at this hour inspiring thousands of youth of Eng- 
land — a name which is our pride, and an example which will 
continue to be our shield and our strength. 

The following speeches in the House of Lords and 
the House of Commons took place five days after the 
battle of Waterloo. 

Earl Bathurst rose, pursuant to the notice which he had 402. Speech 

given, to move the thanks of the House to the duke of Wei- *"! ^^^ House 
P. , , 1 , . 1 r 1 ofLords(Tune 

hngton and the army under his command, for those tran- 23, 1815) 

scendant exertions which led to the victory of the i8th of 
this month. He was aware that their lordships must be eager ' 
to discharge the debt of gratitude to the duke of Welling- 
ton, who had now so gloriously opened the campaign, and re- 
lieved them of the anxiety which all must have felt for some 
time past. 

However sanguine any of them might have been as to the 
final result, yet there were none who must not have experi- 
enced the utmost anxiety with respect to the turn which the 
campaign might take at the commencement. That campaign 



658 Readings in English History 

was begun by Buonaparte ^ himself. He had not, for this time 
at least, to blame the elements. He had not to accuse the 
seasons, nor the defection of those from whom he expected 
support. He could not say that he was obliged to commence 
the battle by those to whose measures he was compelled to 
yield, contrary to his own better judgment. It was completely 
his own act and choice. He had the choice of the time, of 
the place, and of the adversary with whom he might be desir- 
ous to contend. Under these circumstances he had begun the 
battle, and he had failed. His attacks were repulsed ; the 
order was reversed — he was attacked in his turn. His boasted 
genius shrunk under the ascendency of the mightier genius of 
him by whom he was opposed, and the result was the complete 
rout and overthrow of the French army. . . . 

He had now, then, only to move their lordships, "That the 
thanks of this House be given to Field Marshal the duke of 
WeUington, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, 
for the consummate ability, unexampled exertion, and irresist- 
ible ardor displayed by him on the i8th of June, on which day 
the decisive victory over the enemy, commanded by Buona- 
parte in person, was obtained by his grace, with the allied 
troops under his command, and in conjunction with the troops 
under the command of Marshal Prince Blucher, whereby the 
military glory of the British nation has been exalted, and the 
territory of his Majesty's ally the king of the Netherlands has 
been protected from invasion and spoil." 

The same tone of congratulation accompanied by a 
pecuniary grant appears in the speeches in the House 
of Commons. 

403. Speeches The right honorable gentleman concluded by moving, 
of C^mmonT " ^^^^ ^ ^^™'' ^^°' exceeding ^200,000 net, be granted to his 

fTunc 2*^ 

181O ^ "^^^ English continued to speak of Napoleon by his last name, and 

to spell this in the Italian form, as given here, long after his first name 
had been adopted in France as his official title, and his last name, when 
used at all, had come regularly to be spelled in the French form of 
Bonaparte. By this they meant to intimate that he was only a usurper, 
and an Italian at that. 



Industrial, American, and Fre^ich Revolutions 659 

Majesty for the better enabling the trustees appointed under 
an act of the last session of parliament, for settling and secur- 
ing an annuity on Arthur, duke of Wellington, and his heirs, 
and for empowering the lords of the Treasury to advance out 
of the consolidated fund of Great Britain a sum of money to 
purchase an estate in order to accompany the said title, to 
carry into effect the provisions of the said act with respect 
to the purchasing a suitable residence and estate for the duke 
of Wellington and his heirs." 

Mr. W. Smith said he wished it were possible that some 
other mode could be devised of rewarding such transcendent 
merit as the duke of Wellington's, instead of a pecuniary com- 
pensation. However, as all other modes of approbation were 
exhausted, he must at least express his desire that the sum 
now voted should be employed in the erection of a palace 
rather than in purchasing one. Every Briton must look at Blen- 
heim with emotions of pride and satisfaction very different from 
what would be felt if it were merely a house that had been 
built for another and purchased for the duke of Marlborough. 
For his own part, he would rather add _;^5 0,000 more to the 
present vote, if by so doing he thought the erection of a man- 
sion for the duke of Wellington would be secured. . . . 

Sir T. Acland could not but feel anxious to mark the sense 
of the nation on this victory in the most distinct manner ; and 
he should be much disposed to favor the idea of building a 
palace, if he did not feel that any suitable mansion purchased 
for the duke of Wellington in consequence of a vote of that 
House, would bear the same character which would attach to 
a palace purposely erected for him. If he thought the effect 
would not be the same, he would willingly consent to a grant 
of half a million or a whole one to accomplish so desirable 
an object. 

The duke of Wellington had greatly raised the military 
character of England. In India his conduct obtained for him 
the approbation of his country : he had been praised as the 
saviour of Spain and Portugal. One thing only was wanting 
to complete his own glory and that of his country — a triumph 
over him who was said to have conquered every other general 



66o Readings in English History 

to whom he had been opposed. This object was gained. It 
was reserved for his last triumph to supply all that was want- 
ing to the consummation of his glory. Many had heretofore 
doubted what would be the result of a contest in which he 
and Buonaparte fought hand to hand ; that doubt was gone 
forever. We now saw renewed the splendid days of Cressy 
and Agincourt, and this we owed to the duke of Wellington, 
who had now gained the last triumph necessary for his own 
fame, or for that of his country. 

The unmeasured, unreasoning, bitter, and ignorant 
hatred for Napoleon that had grown up in England 
is well reflected in the following article in the London 
Times, published the day the news of his surrender 
reached England. 

404. News of Our paper of this day will satisfy the sceptics, for such there 

thesurrender ^^^^^ beginning to be, as to the capture of that bloody mis- 

(June 25, creant, who has so long tortured Europe, Napoleon Buona- 

1815) parte. Savages are always found to unite the greatest degree 

of cunning to the ferocious part of their nature. The cruelty 

of this person is written in characters of blood in almost every 

country in Europe and in the contiguous angles of Africa and 

Asia which he visited ; and nothing can more strongly evince 

the universal conviction of his low, perfidious craft, than the 

opinion, which was beginning to get abroad, that, even after 

his capture had been officially announced both in France and 

England, he might yet have found means to escape. 

However, all doubts upon this point are put at an end by 
his arrival off the British coast, and, if he be not now placed 
beyond the possibility of again outraging the peace of Europe, 
England will certainly never again deserve to have heroes such 
as those who have fought and bled at Waterloo for this his 
present overthrow. The lives of the brave men who fell on 
that memorable day will have been absolutely thrown away 
by a thoughtless country, the grand object obtained by their 
valour will have been frustrated, and we shall do little less 
than insult over their remains, almost before they have ceased 



Industrial, American, and French Revolutions 661 

to bleed. But Fortune, seconding their undaTinted efforts, has 
put it in our power to do far otherwise. 

Captain Sartorius of the Slaney, frigate, arrived yesterday 
with dispatches from Captain Maitland of the BeUerophoti, 
confirming all the antecedent accounts of Buonaparte's sur- 
render, with various other details, and closing them by their 
natural catastrophe — his safe conveyance to England. He is, 
therefore, what we may call, here. Captain Sartorius deliv- 
ered his dispatches to Lord Melville, at Wimbledon, by whom 
their contents were communicated to Lord Liverpool, at his 
seat at Coombe Wood ; summonses were immediately issued 
for a cabinet council, to meet at 1 2 o'clock ; what passed there 
was, of course, not suffered to transpire. 

Our narrative must therefore revert to the Slaney, frigate, and 
the accounts brought by her. She had been sent forward by 
Captain Maitland to Plymouth, with the dispatches announc- 
ing that Buonaparte was on board the Bellerophon, with a 
numerous suite. But it was the intention of Captain Mait- 
land, himself, to proceed to Torbay, and not land his prisoners 
until he had received orders from government. 

Buonaparte's suite, as it is called, consists of upward of 
forty persons, among whom are Bertrand, Savary, Lallemand, 
Grogau, and several women. He has been allowed to take on 
board carriages and horses, but admission was denied to about 
fifty cavalry, for whom he had the impudence to require accom- 
modation. This wretch has really lived in the commission of 
every crime so long that he has lost all sight and knowledge of 
the difference that exists between good and evil, and hardly 
knows when he is doing wrong, except he be taught by proper 
chastisement. A creature who ought to be greeted with a 
gallows as soon as he lands, — to think of an attendance of 
fifty horsemen ! He had at first wanted to make conditions 
with Captain Maitland as to his treatment, but the British 
officer very properly declared that he must refer him upon 
this subject to his government. 

When he had been some time on board, he asked the cap- 
tain what chance two large frigates, well manned, would have 
with a seventy-four. The answer, we understand, which he 



662 Readings m English History 

received to this Inquiry did not give "him any cause to regret 
that he had not risked his fortune in a naval combat with the 
relative forces in question. By the way, we should not have 
been surprised if he had come into an action with the two 
frigates and then endeavoured to escape in his own and leave 
the other to her fate. It has been the constant trick of this 
villain, whenever he got his companions into a scrape, to leave 
them in it and seek his own safety by flight. In Egypt, in the 
Moscow expedition, and at Waterloo, such was his conduct. . . . 
The first procedure, we trust, will be a special commission, 
or the appointment of a court-martial to try him for the murder 
of Captain Wright. It is nonsense to say, as some have, that 
courts-martial are instituted only to try offenses committed by 
soldiers of the country to which they belong : it was an Amer- 
ican court-martial that tried and shot Major Andre as a spy ; 
and Buonaparte himself appointed commissions of all kinds, 
and in all countries, to try offenses committed against himself. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE PERIOD OF REFORM, i8 15-1852 

I. Contests between Conservatives and Radicals 

The discord and conflict of classes at home became 
even more intense when peace was attained abroad, after 
the long period of war. This fact is well exemplified in 
the democratic sentiments expressed in the following 
passages from Cobbett's Weekly Register. 

A letter to the journeymen and laborers of England, 405. An article 
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, on the cause of their present m Cobbett's 
miseries ; on the measures which have produced that cause ; ister ^ 
on the remedies which some foolish and some cruel and inso- 
lent men have proposed ; and on the line of conduct Avhich 
journeymen and laborers ought to pursue, in order to obtain 
effectual relief, and to assist in promoting the tranquillity and 
restoring the happiness of their country. 

Friends and Fellow-Countrymen : 

Whatever the pride of rank, of riches, or of scholarship may Labor the 
have induced some men to believe, the real strength and all source of all 
the resources of a country ever have sprung and ever must 
spring from the labor of its people ; and hence it is that this 
nation, which is so small in numbers and so poor in climate 
and soil compared with many others, has, for many ages, been 
the most powerful nation in the world : it is the most industri- 
ous, the most laborious, and, therefore, the most powerful. 
Elegant dresses, superb furniture, stately buildings, fine roads 
and canals, fleet horses and carriages, numerous and stout 
ships, warehouses teeming with goods, — all these, and many 
other objects that fall under our view, are so many marks of 

663 



664 



Readings in EnglisJi History 



The common 
people form 
the military 
strength of 
the nation 



national wealth and resources. But all these sprihg from 
labor. Without the journeyman and the laborer none of 
them could exist ; without the assistance of their hands the 
country would be a wilderness, hardly worth the notice of 
an invader. 

As it is the labor of those who toil which makes a country 
abound in resources, so it is the same class of men, who must, 
by their arms, secure its safety and uphold its fame. Titles 
and immense sums of money have been bestowed upon numer- 
ous naval and military commanders. Without calling the jus- 
tice of these in question, we may assert that the victories were 
obtained by you and your fathers and brothers and sons, in 
cooperation with those commanders, who, with your aid, have 
done great and wonderful things ; but who, without that aid, 
would have been as impotent as children at the breast. 

With this correct idea of your own worth in your minds, 
with what indignation must you hear yourselves called " the 
populace," "the rabble," "the mob," "the swinish multitude"; 
and with what greater indignation, if possible, must you hear 
the projects of those cool and cruel and insolent men, who, now 
that you have been, without any fault of yours, brought into a 
state of misery, propose to narrow the limit of parish relief, to 
prevent you from marrying in the days of your youth, or. to 
thrust you out to seek your bread in foreign lands, never more 
to behold your parents or friends? But suppress your indigna- 
tion until we return to this topic, after we have considered 
the cause of your present misery, and the measures which 
have produced that cause. 

The times in which we live are full of peril. The nation, as 
described by the very creatures of government, is fast advanc- 
ing to that period when an important change must take place. 
It is the lot of mankind that some shall labor with their limbs 
and others with their minds; and, on all occasions, more es- 
pecially on an occasion like the present, it is the duty of the 
latter to come to the assistance of the former. We are all 
equally interested in the peace and happiness of our common 
country. It is of the utmost importance that, in seeking to 
obtain these objects, our endeavors should be uniform, and 



The Period of Reform 66$ 

tend all to the same point. Such an uniformity cannot exist 
without an uniformity of sentiment as to public matters, and 
to produce this latter uniformity amongst you is the object of 
this address. 

As to the cause of our present miseries, it is the enormous 
amount of the taxes which the government compels us to pay 
for the support of its army, its place-men, its pensioners, etc., 
and for the payment of the interest of its debt. . . . 

The "bread riots" of 1812, one incident of which is 
recounted in the following letter, were a part of the 
general antagonism between classes which was so char- 
acteristic of the period between 18 12 and 1832, even 
though they were not political in their character. 

Yesterday, being market day, an immense mob, principally 406. Colonel 

women, assembled ; and by a sudden rush emptied the market ^^"^ *° 

r ■ r 11 • • 1 .T^, IT Colonel Lord 

m a few minutes of all it contained. They next proceeded to Roiie, (Shef- 

all the shops where flour was sold, demanding flour at 3^-. per field, June 
stone, which had been selling, during the last fortnight, for ^^' ^ ^^' 
7 J. ; and, with only five or six exceptions, succeeded, by intim- 
idation, in obtaining all they contained at that price. The 15 th 
hussars and ourselves have been constantly on duty since yester- 
day morning. I am sorry to say these lawless proceedings con- 
tinue to-day ; and parties are gone into the country to attack 
the mills, but are followed by dragoons. Not a mechanic has 
been at work yesterday or to-day, though there is no want of 
employment. The riot act has just been read to at least 5000, 
and Lord Fitzwilliam gave them five minutes to disperse, when, 
as they did not obey, the hussars charged down the street and 
cleared it immediately. We now have orders to fire if we meet 
with the least resistance. Thousands were added to-day to their 
numbers from the country. Lord Milton was here yesterday ; 
he is very unpopular, and stones were flung at him. 

Nine o'clock. Lord Fitzwilliam, who appears very deter- 
mined, left this place an hour ago ; and I hope this trouble- 
some business may end without our having recourse to fire. 
No lives have, as yet, been lost. 



666 Readmgs in English History 

The riots of 1819, which were far more serious than 
those just described, called out, among other correspond- 
ence, the following letter from the duke of Wellington 
to the secretary of state, to both of whom the dissatisfied 
workingmen and reformers were merely " insurgents." 

407. The My dear Lord : 

duke of Well- j ^^d not an opportunity of speaking to you last night on 

L(n-d°Sid°- ^^ subject of your operations at Carlisle and Newcastle. I 

mouth (De- strongly recommend to you to order the magistrates at those 

cember ii, places to carry into execution, without loss of time, the law 

against training, and to furnish them with the means of doing 

so. Do not let us be reproached again with having omitted to 

carry the laws into execution, . . . 

By sending to each of these towns about 700 or 800 men, 
cavalry and infantry, and two pieces of cannon, the force would 
be more than sufficient to do all that can be required. Rely 
upon it that, in the circumstances in which we are placed, 
impression on either side is everything. If, upon the passing 
of the training law, you prevent training either by the use of 
force or by the appearance of force in the two places above 
mentioned, you will put a stop at once to all the proceedings 
of the insurgents. . . . 

Observe, also, that if training is continued after the passing 
of the law, which it will be unless you send a force to prevent 
it, the insurgents will gain a very important victory. 
Ever, my dear lord, yours most sincerely, 

Wellington. 

The famous conflict between the military forces and 
the agitators that took place in 18 19, in St. Peter's 
Square, Manchester, hence often spoken of as the 
"Battle of Peterloo," is described as follows by one 
of the lieutenants in the 15th hussars, who was present. 

Our regiment paraded in field-exercise order at about half 
past eight, or, it might be, nine o'clock a.m. Two squadrons 
of it were marched into the towii about 10 o'clock. They 



The Period of Reform 66y 

were formed up and dismounted in a wide street, the name 408. A con- 
of which I forget, to the north of St. Peter's Field (the place temporary 

iri •^ 1 IT r l aCCOUUt Of 

appointed for the meetmg), and at the distance of nearly a the Manches- 
quarter of a mile from it. The Cheshire yeomanry were ter massacre 
formed on our left in the same street. One troop of our 
regiment was attached to the artillery, which took up a posi- 
tion between the cavalry barracks and the town ; and one 
troop remained in charge of the barracks. 

The two squadrons with which I was stationed must have 
remained dismounted nearly two hours. During the greater 
portion of that period a solid mass of people continued mov- 
ing along a street about a hundred yards to our front, on their 
way to the place of meeting. Other officers, as well as myself, 
occasionally rode to the front, to the end of a street to see them 
pass. They marched at a brisk pace, in ranks well closed up, 
five or six bands of music being interspersed; and there ap- 
peared to be but few women with them. 

Mr. Hunt, with two or three other men, and, I think, two Mr. Hunt, the 
women dressed in light blue and white, were in an open carriage, '^^^^°^ ^f the 
drawn by the people. This carriage was adorned with blue and 
white flags, and the day was fine and hot. As soon as the great 
bulk of the procession had passed we were ordered to stand to 
our horses. In a very short time afterwards the four troops of 
the 15 th mounted, and at once moved off by the right, at a 
trot which was increased to a canter. Some one who had been 
sent from the place of meeting to bring us up led the way 
through a number of narrow streets and by a circuitous route 
to the southwest corner of St. Peter's Field. We advanced 
along the south side of this space of ground without a halt or 
pause even ; the words " Front ! " and " Forward ! " were given, 
and the trumpet sounded the charge at the very moment the 
threes wheeled up. When fronted, our line extended across 
the ground, which, in all parts, was so filled with people that 
their hats seemed to touch. 

It was then, for the first time, that I saw the Manchester 
troop of yeomanry. They were scattered singly or in small 
groups over the greater part of the field, literally hemmed up 
and hedged into the mob, so that they were powerless either 



668 Readings in EfiglisJi History 

to make an impression or to escape ; in fact, they were in the 
power of those whom they were designed to overawe, and it 
required only a glance to discover their helpless position and 
the necessity of our being brought to their rescue. As I was 
at the time informed, this hopeless state of things happened 
thus. A platform had been erected near the center of the field, 
from which Mr. Hunt and others were to address the multi- 
tude; and the magistrates, having ordered a strong body of 
constables to be in readiness to arrest the speakers, unfortu- 
nately imagined that they should support the peace ofificers by 
bringing up this troop of yeomanry at a walk. The result of 
this movement, instead of that which the magistrates desired, 
was unexpectedly to place this small body of horsemen, so 
introduced into a dense mob, entirely at the mercy of the 
people, by whom they were, on all sides, pressed upon and 
surrounded. 
Charge of tiie The charge of the hussars, to which I have just alluded, 
cavalry swept this mingled mass of human beings before it ; people, 

yeomen, and constables, in their confused attempts to escape, 
ran one over the other, so that, by the time we had arrived at the 
end of the field, the fugitives were literally piled up to a con- 
siderable elevation above the level of the ground. I may here, 
by the way, state that this field, as it is called, was merely an 
open space of ground, surrounded by buildings, and itself, I 
rather think, in course of being built upon. The hussars drove 
the people forward with the flats of their swords ; but some- 
times, as is almost inevitably the case when men are placed in 
such situations, the edge was used, both by the hussars, and, 
as I have heard, by the yeomen also; but of this latter fact I 
was not cognizant; and believing, though I do, that nine out 
of ten of the sabre wounds were caused by the hussars I must 
still consider that it redounds highly to the human forbearance 
of the men of the 15 th that more wounds were not received, 
when the vast numbers are taken into consideration with whom 
they were brought into hostile collision. Beyond all doubt, 
however, the far greater amount of injuries arose from the 
pressure of the routed multitude. [This account was written 
after these occurrences had been much criticised.] 



T]ic Period of Reform 669 

This unnecessary and indefensible action of the troops 
has been generally disapproved of since ; but it received 
only praise from the government at that time, as will 
appear from the following letter of the Prince Regent to 
the home secretary, within whose charge the matter lay. 

My Lord : 409. The sec- 

The Prince Regent commands me to convey to your lord- ^etary of the 
. Pnnce Regent 

ship his approbation and high commendation of the conduct to Lord Sid- 

of the magistrates and civil authorities at Manchester, as well mouth 
as of the officers and troops, both regular and yeomanry cav- (^"g"^* ^9. 
airy, whose firmness and effectual support of the civil power 
preserved the peace of the town upon that most critical occa- 
sion. His royal Highness entertains a favorable sense of the 
forbearance of Lieut. Col. L' Estrange in the execution of his 
duty ; and bestows the greatest praise upon the zeal and alac- 
rity manifested by Major Trafford and Lieut. Col. Townsend 
and their respective corps. I have the honor to be, etc. 



n. Earlv Reforms 

The punishments for crime were, at this time, more 
severe in England than in Russia. This attracted the 
attention of the emperor of Russia when he visited Eng- 
land in 1 8 14. He is said to have explained it by the 
greater personal freedom of Englishmen. As men were 
more free to do what they would, they must be all the 
more severely punished when they did wrong. 

In England, where every man enjoys so much freedom of 410. Observa- 

action, the execution of the laws must necessarily be severe, *^°°^ °* *^^ 

e ^ -i-rr 1 r • • i • Russian em- 

m consequence ot the dimculty of imposmg adequate restramts pgror (1814) 

on the early transgression of them. As you cannot, therefore, 
interpose obstacles to the commission of crime, the only re- 
maining check is to punish it severely when committed. In 
Russia we can interfere to prevent the commission ; severe 
punishments, therefore, are not so essential. 



670 Readings in English History 

The defense just given for the savage laws for the 
punishment of crime in England was not satisfactory to 
many enlightened men ; nor was there any other suffi- 
cient reason why the laws of England should remain 
more harsh and cruel than those of any other country 
in Europe. The following report from a committee of 
the House of Commons, made in 1820, gives a list of 
some of those which it was proposed to repeal or to 
reduce in severity. 

411. Report In considering the subject of our penal laws, your com- 

of a com- mittee will first lay before the House their observations on 
House of Com- that part which is the least likely to give rise to difference of 
mons (1820) opinion. That many statutes denouncing capital punishments 
might be safely and wisely repealed has long been a preva- 
lent opinion. It is sanctioned by the authority of two succes- 
sive committees of this House, composed of the most eminent 
men of their age, and in some measure by the authority of 
the House itself, which passed several bills on the recommen- 
dation of their committees. 

As a general position, the propriety of repealing such stat- 
utes seems scarcely to have been disputed ; respecting the 
number and choice of them, different sentiments must always 
be expected. Your committee have not attempted a complete 
enumeration, which much time and considerable deliberation 
would be required to accomplish. They selected some capital 
felonies, for the continuance of which they cannot anticipate 
any serious argument, and which seem to them to serve no 
purpose but that of encumbering and discrediting the statute 
book. Various considerations have combined to guide their 
choice. 

Sometimes mere levity and hurry have raised an insignifi- 
cant offense or an almost indifferent act into a capital crime ; 
in other acts the evil has been manifestly and indeed avowedly 
temporary, though it unfortunately produced a permanent law. 
Where the punishment of death was evidently unnecessary 
at the time of its original establishment, and where, if it was 



The Period of Reform 671 

originally justified by a temporary danger, or excused by a tem- 
porary fear, it has long been acknowledged to be altogether 
disproportioned to the offense, your committee conceive them- 
selves warranted in confidently recommending its abolition. 

But they have also adverted to another consideration. If in 
addition to the intrinsic evidence of unwarrantable severity in 
a law, which arises from the comparison of the act forbidden 
with the punishment threatened, they find also that the law 
has scarcely ever been executed since its first enactment, or 
if it has fallen into disuse as the nation became more humane 
and generally enlightened, your committee consider themselves 
as authorized to recommend its repeal, by long experience 
and by the deliberate judgment of the whole nation. . . . 

It has sometimes been said that the abolition of penal laws The desirabii- 
which have fallen into disuse is of little advantage to the com- '^^^ ^^ repeal- 

. , , . . . ing obsolete 

munity. Your committee consider this opinion as an error. ia.ws 
They forbear to enlarge on the striking remark of Lord Bacon, 
that all such laws weaken and disarm the other parts of the 
criminal system. The frequent occurrence of the unexecuted 
threat of death in a criminal code tends to rob that punish- 
ment of all its terrors, and to enervate the general authority 
of the government and the laws. The multiplication of this 
threat in the laws of England has brought on them, and on the 
nation, a character of harshness and cruelty, which evidence of 
a mild administration of them will not entirely remove. Re- 
peal silences the objection. Reasoning founded on lenient 
exercise of authority, whatever its force may be, is not calcu- 
lated to efface a general and deep impression. The removal 
of disused laws is a preliminary operation which greatly facili- 
tates a just estimate and (where it is necessary) an effectual 
reform of those laws which are to remain in activity. . . . 

The statutes creating capital felonies, which the committee 
have considered under this head, are reducible to two classes. 
The first relates to acts either so nearly indifferent as to require 
no penalty, or, if injurious, not of such magnitude as that they 
may not safely be left punishable as misdemeanors at com- 
mon law. Of these your committee propose the simple repeal. 
They are as follows ; 



6']2 Readings in English History 

Laws carrying Against gypsics remaining within the kingdom one month; 
the death pen- against notorious thieves in Cumberland and Northumberland ; 

alty which the . i i t • i • 

committee agamst persons beuig armed and disguised m any forest, park, 
proposes to warren, highroad, open heath, common, or town; unlawfully 
^^'^^ hunting, killing, or stealing deer ; robbing warrens ; stealing 

or taking any fish out of any river or pond ; hunting in his 
Majesty's forests and chases ; breaking down the head or 
mound of a fish pond ; being disguised within the mint ; injur- 
ing of Westminster Bridge and other bridges. 

The second class consists of those offenses, which, though 
in the opinion of your committee never fit to be punished 
with death, are yet so malignant and dangerous as to require 
the highest punishments, except death, which are known to 
our laws. These the committee would make punishable either 
by transportation or imprisonment with hard labor, allowing 
considerable scope to the discretion of the judges respecting 
the term for which either punishment is to endure. 
Offenses Taking away any maid, widow, or wife ; acknowledging or 

which the procuring any fine or recovery ; helping to the recovery of 
proposes to Stolen goods ; maliciously killing or wounding cattle ; cutting 
punish by im- down Or destroying growing trees ; bankrupts not surrender- 
pnsonment or jj-,g . concealing Or embezzling ; cutting down the bank of any 
instead of river ; making a false entpy in a marriage register ; sending 
death threatening letters ; destroying banks in Bedford Level ; per- 

sonating out-pensioners of Greenwich Hospital ; maliciously 
cutting serges ; harboring offenders against the revenue act, 
when returned from transportation. . . . 

On the three capital felonies of privately stealing in a 
shop to the amount of five shillings, of privately stealing in 
a dwelling house to the amount of forty shillings, and of 
privately stealing from vessels in a navigable river to the 
amount of forty shillings, — the House of Commons, though 
not the House of Lords, have pronounced their opinion by 
passing bills for reducing the punishment to transportation or 
imprisonment. . . . 

The same committee collected evidence from a great 
many persons connected w^ith the criminal courts to show 



Tlic Period of Reform 673 

that when the laws were so severe, persons injured would 
not prosecute, and juries would not declare culprits guilty, 
even when the evidence was perfectly clear. The laws 
could not therefore be enforced, and their own objects 
were defeated. 



Mr. Shelton, who has been near forty years clerk of arraigns 412. Testi- 

at the Old Bailey, states that juries are anxious to reduce the ™°°y *° 

ir 11-1 •,, • prove the 

value ot property below its real amount, m those larcenies penal laws 

where the capital punishment depends on value; that they ineffective 

are desirous of omitting those circumstances on which the 

capital punishment depends in constructive burglaries ; and 

that a reluctance to convict is perceptible in forgery. 

Sir Archibald MacDonald bears testimony to the reluctance 
of prosecutors, witnesses, and juries, in forgeries, in shoplifting, 
and offenses of a like nature. He believes that the chances of 
escape are greatly increased by the severity of the punishments. 

T. W. Carr, Esq., solicitor of excise, a very intelligent public 
officer, gave an important testimony, directly applicable indeed 
only to offenses against the revenue, but throwing great light 
on the general tendency of severity in penal laws to defeat its 
own purpose. From his extensive experience it appears that 
severe punishment has rendered the law on that subject ineffi- 
cacious. Prosecutions and convictions were easy when breaches 
of the law were subject to moderate pecuniary penalties ; even 
a great pecuniary penalty has been found so favorable to im- 
punity that fraudulent traders prefer it to a moderate penalty. 
The act of counterfeiting a stamp in certain cases, within the 
laws of excise, was, before the year 1806, subject only to a 
penalty of ;!^5oo, but in that year it was made a transportable 
offense, of which the consequence was that the convictions, 
which from 1794 to 1806 had been nineteen out of twenty- 
one prosecutions, were reduced in the succeeding years, from 
1806 to 18 18, to three out of nine prosecutions. 

Mr. Newman, solicitor for the city of London, speaking from 
thirty years' experience of the course of criminal prosecutions 
in that city, informed the committee that he had frequently 



6/4 Readings hi Ejiglisk History 

observed a reluctance to prosecute and convict in capital 
offenses not directed against the lives, persons, or dwellings 
of men. 

Dr. Lushington declared that he knew that in the minds of 
many persons there is a strong indisposition to prosecute, on 
account of the severity of the punishment ; and that he had 
heard from the mouths of prosecutors themselves, who have 
prosecuted for capital offenses, where there was danger of the 
person's being executed, the greatest regret that they had so 
done ; and many times they have expressed a wish that, had 
they been able to have foreseen the consequences, they would 
never have resorted to the laws of their country. He also 
related the case of a servant who committed a robbery upon 
him ; the man was apprehended and his guilt was clear, but 
Dr. Lushington " refused to prosecute, for no other reason 
but that he could not induce himself to run the risk of taking 
away the life of a man." 

A famous passage from Macaulay, in which he elo- 
quently describes the extent, the power, the age, and 
the strength of organization of the Roman Catholic 
Church may be introduced here, in connection with the 
claims of the Roman Catholics of Great Britain and 
Ireland to be put upon an equality with Protestants in 
the right of voting and holding office. 

413. Macau- There is not, and there never was on this earth, a work of 

lay on the human policy so well deserving of examination as the Roman 
Roman Oath- „,,.„,, „, , . , , , 1 • • 1 

oiic Church Catholic Church. 1 he history of that church joins together 

two great ages of human civilization. No other institution is 
left standing which carries the mind back to the times when 
the smoke of sacrifice rose from the Pantheon, and when ca- 
melopards and tigers bounded in the Flavian amphitheater. 
The proudest royal houses are but of yesterday when com- 
pared with the line of the supreme pontiffs. That line we 
trace back in an unbroken series, from the pope who crowned 
Napoleon in the nineteenth century to the pope who crowned 
Pepin in the eighth ; and far beyond the time of Pepin the 



The Period of Reform 6y$ 

august dynasty extends, till it is lost in the twilight of fable. 
The republic of Venice came next in antiquity. But the re- 
public of Venice was modern when compared with the papacy ; 
and the republic of Venice is gone, and the papacy remains. 

The papacy remains, not in decay, not a mere antique, but 
full of life and youthful vigour. The Catholic church is still 
sending forth to the farthest ends of the world missionaries as 
zealous as those who landed in Kent with Augustine, and still 
confronting hostile kings with the same spirit with which she 
confronted Attila. The number of her children is greater than 
in any former age. Her acquisitions in the New World have 
more than compensated for what she has lost in the Old. Her 
spiritual ascendency extends over the vast countries which lie 
between the plains of the Missouri and Cape Horn, — countries 
which, a century hence, may not improbably contain a popula- 
tion as large as that which now inhabits Europe. The members 
of her communion are certainly not fewer than a hundred and 
fifty millions ; and it will be difficult to show that all other 
Christian sects united amount to a hundred and twenty millions. 

Nor do we see any sign which indicates that the term of her 
long dominion is approaching. She saw the commencement of 
all the governments and of all the ecclesiastical establishments 
that now exist in the world ; and we feel no assurance that she 
is not destined to see the end of them all. She was great and 
respected before the Saxon had set foot on Britain, before the 
Frank had passed the Rhine, when Grecian eloquence still 
flourished at Antioch, when idols were still worshiped in the 
temple of Mecca. And she may still exist in undiminished 
vigour when some traveler from New Zealand shall, in the 
midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of 
London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's. 

Sydney Smith, the author of the following extract, 
which is one of a series of short articles on public sub- 
jects that he published under the name Peter Plymlef s 
Letter's, was an Anglican clergyman, though an Irish- 
man by birth and residence. He was one of the most 



^'j6 Readings in E?iglish History 

outspoken advocates of giving to the Roman Catholics 
a right to vote and sit in parliament, and one of the few 
churchmen who did not oppose this reform. This letter 
was written before the close of the wars with Napoleon. 

414. Sydney As I have before said, the moment the very name of Ire- 
Smith on the i3^j-,(j js mentioned the English seem to bid adieu to common 
of Roman feeling, common prudence, and common sense, and to act 
Catholic with the barbarity of tyrants and the fatuity of idiots, 

emancipation Whatever your opinion may be of the follies of the Roman 
Catholic religion, remember they are the follies of four millions 
of human beings, increasing rapidly in numbers, wealth, and 
intelligence, who, if firmly united with this country, would set 
at defiance the power of France, and, if once wrested from 
their alliance with England, would in three years render its 
existence as an independent nation absolutely impossible. You 
speak of danger to the establishment : I request to know when 
the establishment was ever so much in danger as when Hoche 
was in Bantry Bay, and whether all the books of Bossuet, or 
the arts of the Jesuits, were half so terrible? Mr. Perceval 
and his parsons forgot all this in their horror lest twelve or 
fourteen old women may be converted to holy water and Cath- 
olic nonsense. They never see that while they are saving these 
venerable ladies from perdition, Ireland may be lost, England 
broken down, and the Protestant church, with all its deans, 
prebendaries, Percevals, and Rennels, be swept into the vortex 
of oblivion. 
The great Do uot, I besccch you, cvcr mention to me again the name 

population of q{ p)j-_ Duigcuau. I have been in every corner of Ireland, and 
have studied its present strength and condition with no com- 
mon labor. Be assured Ireland does not contain at this mo- 
ment less than five millions of people. There were returned 
in the year 1791 to the hearth tax 701,000 houses, and there 
is no kind of question that there were about 50,000 houses 
omitted in that return. Taking, however, only the number 
returned for the tax, and allowing the average of six to a 
house (a very small average for a potato-fed people), this 
brings the population to 4,200,000 people in the year 1791 ; 



TJie Period of Reform 6yy 

and it can be shown from the clearest evidence (and Mr. New- 
enham in his book shows it) that Ireland for the last fifty 
years has increased in its population at the rate of 50,000 or 
60,000 per annum ; which leaves the present population of 
Ireland at about five millions, after every possible deduction 
for existing circumstances, just and necessary wars, monstrous 
and unnatural rebellions, and all other sources of human 
destruction. 

Of this population, two out of ten are Protestants ; and the 
half of the Protestant population are Dissenters, and as inim- 
ical to the church as the Catholics themselves. In this state 
of things thumbscrews and whipping — admirable engines of 
policy as they must be considered to be — will not ultimately 
avail. The Catholics will hang over you ; they will watch for 
the moment, and compel you hereafter to give them ten times 
as much against your will, as they would now be contented 
with, if it were voluntarily surrendered. Remember what hap- 
pened in the American war, when Ireland compelled you to 
give her everything she asked for, and to renounce, in the 
most explicit manner, your claim of sovereignty over her. 
God Almighty grant the folly of these present men may not 
bring on such another crisis of public affairs ! 

What are your dangers which threaten the establishment? imaginary 
Reduce this declamation to a point, and let us understand dangers of 
what vou mean. The most ample allowance does not calcu- ^ °-"^ ,. 

' emancipation 

late that there would be more than twenty members who were 
Roman Catholics in one house, and ten in the other, if the 
Catholic emancipation were carried into effect. Do you mean 
that these thirty members would bring in a bill to take away 
the tithes from the Protestant and to pay them to the Cath- 
olic clergy? 

Do you mean that a Catholic general would march his 
army into the House of Commons and purge it of Mr. Per- 
ceval and Dr. Duigenan? or that the theological writers would 
become all of a sudden more acute or more learned, if the 
present civil incapacities were removed ? Do you fear for your 
tithes, or your doctrines, or your person, or the English con- 
stitution ? Every fear, taken separately, is so glaringly absurd 



6/8 Readings in English History 

that no man has the folly or the boldness to state it. Every 
one conceals his ignorance or his baseness in a stupid gen- 
eral panic, which, when called on, he is utterly incapable of 
explaining. 

Whatever you think of the Catholics, there they are — you 
cannot get rid of them ; your alternative is to give them a 
lawful place for stating their grievances, or an unlawful one ; 
if you do not admit them to the House of Commons, they will 
hold their parliament in Potato Place, Dublin, and be ten 
times as violent and inflammatory as they would be in West- 
minster. Nothing would give me such an idea of security 
as to see twenty or thirty Catholic gentlemen in parliament, 
looked upon by all the Catholics as the fair and proper organ 
of their party. I should have thought it the height of good 
fortune that such a wish existed on their part, and the very 
essence of madness and ignorance to reject it. Can you mur- 
der the Catholics? Can you neglect them? They are too 
numerous for both these expedients. What remains to be done 
is obvious to every human being but to that man who, instead 
of being a Methodist preacher, is, for the curse of us and our 
children, and for the ruin of Troy and the misery of good old 
Priam and his sons, become a legislator and a politician. . . . 

The important clauses of the Catholic Emancipation 
Act, as it was carried in 1829, are as follow^s : 

415. The Whereas by various acts of parliament certain restraints and 

Catholic disabilities are imposed on the ■Roman Catholic subjects of his 

Act^l'iSio) '°° Majesty, to which other subjects of his Majesty are not liable ; 
and whereas it is expedient that such restraints and disabili- 
ties shall be from henceforth discontinued; and whereas by 
various acts certain oaths and certain declarations, commonly 
called the declaration against transubstantiation, and the decla- 
ration against transubstantiation and the invocation of saints 
and the sacrifice of the mass, as practiced in the church of 
Rome, are or may be required to be taken, made, and sub- 
scribed by the subjects of his Majesty, as qualifications for sit- 
ting and voting in parliament, and for the enjoyment of certain 
offices, franchises, and civil rights. 



The Period of Reform 679 

Be it enacted by the king's most excellent Majesty, by and 
with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and tempo- 
ral, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and 
by the authority of the same, that from and after the com- 
mencement of this act all such parts of the said acts as require 
the said declarations or either of them to be made or sub- 
scribed by any of his Majesty's subjects, as a qualification for 
sitting and voting in parliament or for the exercise or enjoy- 
ment of any ofifice, franchise, or civil right, be and the same 
are, save as hereinafter provided and excepted, hereby repealed. 



III. The Reform Bill of 1832 

The conflict which filled the years 1 830-1 832 was 
begun by the followiiig defiance uttered by the duke of 
Wellington, then prime minister, in the House of Lords, 
November 2, 1830. The speeches in the House of Lords 
are usually reported, as in this case, in the third person, 
and are so published in the Pa7-liamcntary Debates. 

This subject brought him to what noble lords had said re- 416. Speech 

specting the putting the country in a state to overcome the °* *^® ^^^^ 

•1 1-1 , 1 r , , ,• , • T- r^, of Wellington 

evils likely to result from the late disturbances in r ranee. Ihe 

noble earl had alluded to the propriety of effecting parlia- 
mentary reform. The noble earl had, however, been candid Wellington's 
enough to acknowledge that he was not prepared with any answer to 
measure of reform, and he could have no scruple in saying that 
his Majesty's government was as totally unprepared with any 
plan as the noble lord. 

Nay, he, on his own part, would go further and say that he Wellington's 
had never read or heard of any measure up to the present '^'S^^ opinion 

... , 1 . , . r , . . 1 , , of parliament 

moment which could in any degree satisfy his mmd that the 
state of the representation could be improved, or be rendered 
more satisfactory to the country at large, than at the present 
moment. He would not, however, at such an unseasonable 
time, enter upon the subject, or excite discussion, but he should 
not hesitate to declare unequivocally what were his sentiments 



68o Readings in English History 

upon it. He was fully convinced that the country poss ssed at 
the present moment a legislature which answered all the good 
purposes of legislation, and this to a greater degree than any 
legislature ever had answered in any country whatever. He 
would go further and say that the legislature and the system 
of representation possessed the full and entire confidence of 
the country, — -deservedly possessed that confidence, — and the 
discussions in the legislature had a very great influence over 
the opinions of the country. 

He would go still further and say that if at the present 
moment he had imposed upon him the duty of forming a legis- 
lature for any country, and particularly for a country like this, 
in possession of great property of various descriptions, he did 
not mean to assert that he could form such a legislature as they 
possessed now, for the nature of man was incapable of reach- 
ing such excellence at once; but his great endeavor would be 
to form some description of legislature which would produce 
the same results. The representation of the people at present 
contained a large body of the property of the coimtry, and in 
which the landed interests had a preponderating influence. 

Under these circumstances he was not prepared to bring 
forward any measure of the description alluded to by the noble 
lord. He was not only not prepared to bring any measure of 
this nature, but he would at once declare that as far as he was 
concerned, as long as he held any station in the government 
of the country, he should always feel it his duty to resist such 
measures when proposed by others. 

Some extracts from the speech in which Lord John 
Russell introduced the Reform Bill into the House of 
Commons, on March i, 1831, are here given. 

417. Speech Mr. Speaker : 

of Lord John j j-ise, sir, with feelings of deep anxiety and interest, to bring 

(March i forward a question which, unparalleled as it is in importance, 

1831) is likewise unparalleled in difficulty, without my apprehension 

in the least degree being removed by the reflection that I 

have, on former occasions, brought this question before the 



The Period of Reform 68 1 

consideration of the House; for if, on the other occasions, I 
have called the attention of the House of Commons to this sub- 
ject, it has been upon my own responsibility, unaided by any one, 
— involving no one in the failure of the attempt, — though often 
completely gratified by partial success. But, sir, the measure 
I have now to bring forward is a measure, not of mine, but 
of the government in whose name I appear, — the deliberate 
measure of a whole cabinet, unanimous upon this subject, and 
resolved to place their measure before this House, in redemp- 
tion of their pledge to their sovereign, to parliament, and to 
their country. It is, therefore, with great anxiety that I ven- 
ture to explain their intentions to the House upon a subject 
the interest of which is shown by the crowded audience assem- 
bled here, but still more by the deep interest that is felt by 
millions out of this House, who look with anxiety, who look 
with hope, who look with expectation to the result of this 
day's deliberations. . . . 

Let us now look at the question as one of reason. Allow A suppositi- 
me to imagine, for a moment, a stranger from some distant *'°"^ visitor 

1111 • ■ • T^ 1 1 • . . to England 

country, who should arrive in England to examine our institu- 
tions. All the information he would have collected would have 
told him that this country was singular for the degree which it 
had attained in wealth, in science, and in civilization. He 
would have learned that in no country have the arts of life 
been carried further, nowhere the inventions of mechanical 
skill been rendered more conducive to the comfort and pros- 
perity of mankind. He would have made himself acquainted 
with its fame in history, and, above all, he would have been 
told that the proudest boast of this celebrated country was its 
political freedom. If, in addition to this, he had heard that 
once in six years this country, so wise, so renowned, so free, 
chose its representatives to sit in the great council where all 
the ministerial affairs were discussed and determined, he would 
not be a little curious to see the process by which so important 
and solemn an operation was effected. 

What, then, would be his surprise, if he were taken by his 
guide, whom he had asked to conduct him to one of the places 
of election, to a green mound, and told that this green mound 1/ 



682 Readings in English History 

sent two members to parliament ; or to be taken to a stone wall 
with three niches in it, and told that these three niches sent 
two members to parliament; or, if he were shown a green park 
with many signs of flourishing vegetable life but none of human 
habitation, and told that this green park sent two members to 
parliament? But his surprise would increase to astonishment 
if he were carried into the north of England, where he would 
see large flourishing towns, full of trade and activity, contain- 
ing vast magazines of wealth and manufactures, and were told 
that these places had no representatives in the assembly which 
was said to represent the people. 

Suppose him, after all, for I will not disguise any part of 
the case, — suppose him to ask for a specimen of popular elec- 
tion, and to be carried for that purpose to Liverpool ; his sur- 
prise would be turned to disgust at the gross venality and 
corruption which he would find to pervade the electors. After 
seeing all this, would he not wonder that a nation which had 
made such progress in every kind of knowledge, and which 
valued itself for its freedom, should permit so absurd and 
defective a system of representation any longer to prevail? . . . 

I repeat that the confidence of the country in the construc- 
tion and constitution of the House of Commons is gone — and 
gone forever. I would say more : I affirm that it would be 
easier to transfer the flourishing manufactories of Leeds and 
Manchester to Gatton and Old Sarum than to reestablish the 
confidence and sympathy between this House and those v/hom 
it calls its constituents. I end this argument, therefore, by 
saying that if the question be one of right, right is in favor of 
reform ; if it be a question of reason, reason is in favor of re- 
form ; if it be a question of policy and expediency, policy and 
expediency speak loudly for reform. 

One of the strongest speeches against the bill in the 
long debates that took place in the House of Commons 
on its first introduction was that of Sir Robert H. Inglis. 
Some extracts from the early and more general part of 
this address are here given. 



The Pe7-iod of Reform 683' 

Mr. Speaker : 418. Speech 

Few men, I believe, can rise to address the House, excited "^ Sir 
• 1 1 1 1 1 r 1 1111 • 1 Robert Inglis 

as it has been by the speech of the noble lord, without some (March, 1831) 

feeling of self-distrust. Of the cause itself which I advocate 
— the cause of the existing and ancient institutions of the 
country — I have no distrust. Yet I own that I approach the 
discussion of this question with a sensation of awe at the con- 
templation of the abyss on the brink of which we stand and into 
which the motion of the noble lord will, if successful, hurl us. 
With a deep sense, therefore, of the danger of our position, I 
rise to endeavor to recall to the attention of the House (for 
on such a subject there can be little novelty on either side) 
facts and arguments, which, urged in happier times and by 
abler men, have been successful in persuading the House to 
resist measures similar to the present. 

The noble lord has stated that there is one peculiarity in 
his motion which claims the special attention of the House. 
I admit it. This is the first time, for nearly fifty years, that 
any person, invested even with the reflected light of the gov- 
ernment, has come down to the House formally to require the 
House to declare that it is incompetent to the just discharge 
of its legislative functions. It is the first time, for nearly fifty 
years, that the advisers of his Majesty have thought fit to 
pledge themselves, and to endeavor to pledge their sovereign, 
before his people, to the doctrine that the House of Com- 
mons is unworthy of the confidence of the people, — is un- 
worthy to stand between their fellow-subjects and the throne. 
The doctrine itself is not new, but it is now brought forward 
under circumstances so new as to invest it with a character 
not more distinct than ill-omened. The noble lord has also 
stated, at the beginning and at the end of his speech, that the 
object of his motion is demanded by the great majority of the 
people. The noble lord has talked not only of the myriads of 
petitions but of the millions of those who now come forward, 
I admit that he added at one time, " for their just requests," 
but at another he said, " to demand their rights." . . . 

In this way many of those, who, sitting for close or for 
rotten boroughs, as they have been this night designated for 



'684 



Readings in English History 



Great men 
who have en- 
tered parlia- 
ment by 
appointment 



the first time by the representative of the king's government, 
have constituted the chief ornaments of this House in the 
past and present age, have entered parhament ; many of 
whom, if this way had been closed, would never have entered 
these walls. There is no one man, I think, of all now sitting 
here, who has taken any prominent part in the proceedings of 
this House, my honorable friend the member for Kent, and 
my honorable friends the members for Devonshire and Staf- 
fordshire and Cornwall, and the honorable and learned mem- 
ber for Waterford, excepted (I scarcely recollect any other), 
who has not entered this House as the representative of a 
small borough. The honorable member for Middlesex is cer- 
tainly not an exception. 

I will ask the noble lord by what other means the great Lord 
Chatham came into parliament? By the bye, his earliest seat 
was, I think, for Old Sarum itself. Mr. Pitt sat for Appleby ; 
Mr. Fox came in for a close borough, and, when rejected 
by a populous place, took refuge again in a close borough. 
Mr. Burke sat for Wendover, from which, having distinguished 
himself in this House, he was transferred in the same way to 
Liverpool. Would these large places ever have thought of 
selecting Mr. Canning, Mr. Burke, or Lord Chatham, if these 
great men had not previously had an opportunity of showing 
their talents in this House? In later times Mr. Windham, 
Mr. Brougham, Sir Samuel Romilly (I speak not of existing 
ornaments of this House, whom we owe to this system), all 
came into parliament by the introduction of great men. . . . 

As the pressure from the people outside of parliament 
increased, the anger of members of parliament opposed 
to the bill rose against this, which seemed to them an 
unjustifiable intrusion. This feeling is represented by 
the following speech in the House of Commons. 

It is with deep regret I come forward on this occasion to 
of the mar- interrupt for a minute the resumption of the adjourned debate, 
dos (March 7, It is only through the courtesy of my gallant friend (Colonel 
1831) Sibthorp) that the opportunity has been afforded to me ; and 



419. Speech 
of the mar- 
quis of Chan- 



The Period of RefoT'ui 685 

I assure the House that I should not come forward on such an 
occasion if I did not think it my duty to aUude to a circum- 
stance which I consider it most important should be brought 
to the notice of this House. Every one must admit that it is 
highly necessary that our deliberations on the measure now 
under consideration should be unbiased, unfettered, and con- 
ducted calmly and without excitement. It is a matter of the 
deepest regret to me, therefore, to find that persons — friends, 
too, of his Majesty's ministers — not content with expressing 
their own opinions in support of the measure proposed, are 
going abroad amongst the people, trying to influence the 
minds of the lower classes on this subject, and to intimidate 
members of this House in the performance of what they may 
consider their public duty on this question. . . . 

A meeting was held on Friday last, at the Crown and Anchor Popular 
tavern in the Strand, the proceedings at which have been re- ^^''^^^^ 
ported in the Morning Chronicle, and which call, as I think, 
for the serious attention of this House. At that meeting Colo- 
nel De Lacy Evans, lately a member of this House, the mem- 
ber for Rye, is reported to have stated that he had lately come 
up from the coast of Sussex, where there had been two reform 
meetings ; and that he knew there were 10,000 men ready to 
march up to London from that part of the country, if ministers 
were defeated in the measure they have brought forward. 

Now it really does appear to me, sir, that his Majesty's 
ministers are called upon to notice such statements. In my 
opinion, no means should be allowed to be taken, directly or 
indirectly, of biasing the determination of the members of 
this House, or endeavoring by intimidation of this sort to 
deter them from the performance of their duty. I have thought 
it my duty to call the attention of his Majesty's ministers to 
this subject, and the answer I receive from the noble lord will 
bias me very much in the course I shall take. It is for his 
Majesty's government and the House to say what steps they 
consider it necessary to take in such a case, but certainly such 
proceedings ought not to be tolerated. 

Lord Althorp, one of the ministers, made the follow- 
ing reply. 



686 



Readings in English History 



Reply of Lord Sir, I really do not know what ground the noble marquis 
Althorp i^^g fQj. presuming that his Majesty's ministers are encourag- 

ing any persons to inflame the public mind with a view to 
disturb the deliberations of this House. I beg distinctly to 
state that the ministers have done no such thing. All we wish 
is that the measure now under consideration should be calmly, 
dispassionately, and quietly discussed. I am aware that the 
people feel a strong interest in the success of this measure, 
and the noble marquis must know, as well as I do, that when 
the people of this country do feel a strong interest in any 
public question meetings will be held and violent language 
will sometimes be used. His Majesty's ministers have no wish, 
however, that the discussions of this subject should be influ- 
enced by anything but its true merits. 

A fair idea of what was meant by the close boroughs, 
which the act of 1832 abolished, can be obtained from 
the following table. The first column gives the name of 
the town or borough ; the second column gives the name 
of the landowner on whose estates it lay, and who had 
therefore practical control over the appointment of its 
representatives ; the third column gives the number of 
its inhabitants. 



420. A list of Aldborough 
small repre- Aldeburgh 



sented towns 



Appleby . 
Bedwin 
Beeralston 
Bishop's Castle 
Bletchingley . 
Boroughbridge 
Bossiney . 
Brackley . . 
Bramber . . 



Buckingham . 

Callington 

Camelford 



Duke of Newcastle 60 

Marquis of Hertford 80 

Earl of Thanet and Earl Lonsdale . 1 00 

Marquis of Aylesbury 80 

Earl of Beverly 100 

Earl Powis 60 

Mr. M. Russell 80 

Duke of Newcastle 5° 

Lord Warncliffe and Mr. Turmo . 35 

R. H. and J. Bradshaw • • • • 33 
Lord Calthorpe and the Duke of 

Rutland 20 

Duke of Buckingham 13 

Mr. A. Baring 50 

Marquis of Cleveland 25 



The Period of Reform 



687 



Castle Rising 

Corfe Castle . 
Dunwich . 
East Looe 
Eye . . . 
Fowey . 
Gatton . . 
Haslemere 
Heytesbury . 
Higham Ferrers 
Hindon 
Ilchester . 



Lostwithiel 
Ludgershall 
Malmesbury 
Maw's, St. 
Michael, St. 



Midhurst . . 
Milborne Port 
Minehead 
Newport, Cornwall 
Newton, Lancashire 
Newton, Isle of Wight 



Old Sarum 
Orford 
Petersfield 
Plympton . 



Romney, New 
Ryegate . 
Saltash 
Seaford 



Steyning . 
Stockbridge 
Tregony . 
Wareham . 
Wendover 



Marquis of Cholmondeley and Hon. 

F. G. Howard 50 

Mr. H. Bankes 50 

Lord Huntingfield and Mr. Barne . 18 

Mr. Hope 50 

Sir E. Kerrison 100 

Mr. Austin and Mr. Livey ... 70 

Lord Monson 5 

Earl Lonsdale 60 

Lord Heytesbury -,5° 

Lord Fitzwilliam 145 

Lord Grosvenor and Lord Calthorpe 240 
Disputed between Lord Cleveland 

and Lord Huntingtower ... 70 

Earl of Mount Edgecumbe ... 94 

Sir G. Graham and Mr. Everett . 70 

Mr. Pitt 13 

Duke of Buckingham 20 

Lord Falmouth and Mr. J. H. Haw- 
kins 32 

Mr. John Smith 13 

Marquis of Angelsea 90 

Mr. Luttrell .10 

Duke of Northumberland .... 62 

Mr. Legh 60 

Lord Yarborough and Sir F. Bar- 

rington 40 

The Proprietor ... no inhabitants 

Marquis of Hertford 20 

Colonel Joliffe 140 

Mr. Trehy and the Earl of Mount 

Edgecumbe 210 

Sir E. Dering 150 

Earl of Hardwicke and Lord Somers 200 

Mr. Buller .36 

Lord Seaford and Mr. J. Fitzgerald 

no inhabitants 

Duke of Norfolk no 

Lord Grosvenor ....'.. 106 

Mr. J. A. Gordon 180 

Right Hon. J. Calcraft 20 

Lord Carrington 140 



688 



Readings in English History 



Weobly 

West Looe 

Whitchurch 

Winchelsea 

Woodstock 

Wooton Bassett 

Yarmouth 



421. Macau- 
lay to Francis 
Ellis (March 
30, 1831) 



Omitting the 
speaker and 
the four tellers 
there would 
be six hun- 
dred and three 
voters 



Marquis of Bath 90 

Mr. Buller 55 

Lord Sydney and Sir F. Scott . . 70 

Marquis of Cleveland 40 

Duke of Marlborough 400 

Earl of Clarendon and Mr. Pitt . .100 
The Holmes Family 50 



The following letter from Thomas B. Macaulay, then 
a young member of parliament, gives a graphic descrip- 
tion of the vote by which the Reform Bill was carried 
through the House of Commons for the first time. 

Dear Ellis : 

I have little news for you, except what you will learn from 
the papers as well as from me. It is clear that the Reform 
Bill must pass, either in this or in another parliament. The 
majority of one does not appear to me, as it does to you, by 
any means inauspicious. We should perhaps have had a better 
plea for dissolution if the majority had been the other way. 
But surely a dissolution under such circumstances would have 
been a most alarming thing. If there should be a dissolution 
now, there will not be that ferocity in the public mind which 
there would have been if the House of Commons had refused 
to entertain the bill at all. I confess that, till we had a majority, 
I was half inclined to tremble at the storm which we raised. 
At present I think that we are absolutely certain of victory, 
and of victory without commotion. 

Such a scene as the division of last Tuesday I never saw, 
and never expect to see again. If I should' live fifty years, the 
impression of it will be as fresh and sharp in my mind as if it 
had just taken place. It was like seeing Caesar stabbed in the 
Senate house, seeing Oliver take the mace from the table, — a 
sight to be seen only once, and never to be forgotten. The 
crowd overflowed the House in every part. When the strangers 
were cleared out and the doors locked, we had six hundred 
and eight members present — more by fifty-five than ever were 
in a division before. The ayes and noes were like two volleys 
of cannon from opposite sides of a field of battle. When the 



The Period of Reform 689 

opposition went out into the lobby, — an operation which took 
up twenty minutes or more, — - we spread ourselves over the 
benches on both sides of the House ; for there were many of 
us who had not been able to find a seat during the evening. 

When the doors were shut we began to speculate on our 
numbers. Everybody was desponding. " We have lost it. We 
are only two hundred and eighty at most." " I do not think 
we are two hundred and fifty. They are three hundred." 
" Alderman Thompson has counted them. He says they are 
two hundred and ninety-nine." This was the talk on our 
benches. I wonder that men who have been long in parlia- 
ment do not acquire a better coup d''(x.il for numbers. The 
House, when only the ayes were in it, looked to me a very 
fair House, much fuller than it generally is even on debates 
of considerable interest. I had no hope, however, of three 
hundred. As the tellers passed along our lowest row on the 
left-hand side the interest was insupportable — two hundred 
and ninety-one — two hundred and ninety-two; we were all 
standing up and stretching forward, telling with the tellers. 
At three himdred there was a short cry of joy ; at three hun- Three hun- 
dred and two another, suppressed, however, in a moment; dredandtwo 
for we did not yet know what the hostile force might be. We 
knew, however, that we could not be severely beaten. 

The doors were thrown open and in they came. Each of Three hun- 
them, as he entered, brought some different report of their dredandone 
numbers. It must have been impossible, as you may conceive, 
in the lobby, crowded as they were, to form any exact esti- 
mate. First we heard that they were three hundred and three ; 
then that number rose to three hundred and ten ; then went 
down to three hundred and seven. Alexander Barry told me 
that he had counted, and that they were three hundred and 
four. We were all breathless with anxiety, when Charles Wood, 
who stood near the door, jumped up on a bench and cried 
out, "They are only three hundred and one." We set up a 
shout that you might have heard to Charing Cross, waving 
our hats, stamping against the floor, and clapping our hands. 
The tellers scarcely got through the crowd ; for the House was 
thronged up to the table, and all the floor was fluctuating with 



690 Readings in English History 

heads like the pit of a theater. But you might have heard a 
pin drop as Duncannon read the numbers. 

Then again the shouts broke out, and many of us shed tears. 
I could scarcely refrain. And the jaw of Peel fell; and the 
face of Twiss was as the face of a damned soul ; and Herries 
looked like Judas taking his necktie off for the last operation. 
We shook hands and clapped each other on the back, and 
, went out laughing, crying, and huzzaing into the lobby. And 

no sooner were the outer doors opened than another shout 
answered that within the House. All the passages and the 
stairs into the waiting rooms were thronged by people who 
had waited till four in the morning to know the issue. We 
passed through a narrow lane between two thick masses of 
them, and all the way down they were shouting and waving 
their hats, till we got into the open air. I called a cabriolet, 
and the first thing the driver asked was, " Is the bill carried? " 
"Yes, by one." "Thank God for it, sir ! " And away I rode 
to Gray's Inn, and so ended a scene which will probably 
never be equaled till the reformed parliament wants reform- 
ing ; and that, I hope, will not be till the days of our grand- 
children, — till that truly orthodox and apostolical person, Dr. 
Francis Ellis, is an archbishop of eighty. 

IV. General Reform Legislation 

All reform came more easily, now that the great break 
with the past had been made by the passage of the bill 
of 1832. The agitation for laws protecting children from 
overwork in the factories had been in progress ever since 
the rise of the factories in the eighteenth century. The 
extract that follows, dating from the year 18 15, is part 
of this discussion. 

422. A debate Sir Robert Peel called the attention of the House to the 

in parliament expediency of some legislative regulation for the purpose of 

on a factory ^ . . ^ , ,^ , ^ ,., , . ^ r 

law (June 6 restricting the employment of young children m manutactur- 

1815) ing labor. It was well known that a bad practice had prevailed 



The Period of Reform 69 1 

of condemning children whose years and strength did not 
admit of it to the drudgery of occupations often severe and 
sometimes unhealthy. What he was disposed to recommend 
was a regulation that no children should be so employed under 
the age of ten years, either as apprentices or otherwise, and 
the duration of their labor should be limited to twelve hours 
and a half per diem, including the time for education and 
meals, which would leave ten hours for laborious employment. 
The accounts he had recently seen showed that it was not so 
much the hardship as the duration of the labor which had 
produced mischievous effects on the health of the rising gen- 
eration. It was to be lamented, however, that the inspect- 
ors appointed under a late act had been very remiss in the 
performance of their duty. He should, in consequence of this 
misfortune, propose that proper persons be appointed at quar- 
ter sessions, and that they should be paid in due proportion 
for their trouble. . . . 

Mr. Horner observed that the former measures and even Evils of the 
the present bill, as far as he could understand its object, fell fystemof 

r ■, r 1 T 1 • rr.1 bound chil- 

far short of what parliament should do on the subject. The dien in fac- 
practice which was so prevalent of apprenticing parish chil- tories 
dren in distant manufactories was as repugnant to humanity 
as any practice which had ever been suffered to exist by the 
negligence of the legislature. These children were often sent 
one, two, or three hundred miles from their place of birth, 
separated for life from all their relations, and deprived of the 
aid and instruction which even in their humble and almost 
destitute situation they might derive from their friends. The 
practice was altogether objectionable on this ground, but even 
more so from the enormous abuses which had existed in it. 
It had been known that with a bankrupt's effects a gang, if 
he might use the word, of these children had been put up to 
sale, and were advertised publicly as part of the property. 

A most atrocious instance had been brought before the 
Court of King's Bench, two years ago, in which a number of 
these boys, apprenticed by a parish in London to one manu- 
facturer, had been transferred to another, and had been found 
by some benevolent persons in a state of absolute famine. 



692 



Readings in English History 



423. Testi- 
mony given 
by factory 
laborers to 
the parlia- 
mentary com- 
mittee of 1832 

William Hen- 
den, aged 19; 
examined 
June 13, 1832 



Another case more horrible had come to his knowledge while 
on a committee upstairs : that not many years ago an agree- 
ment had been made between a London parish and a Lanca- 
shire manufacturer, by which it was stipulated that with every 
twenty sound children one idiot should be taken ! A practice 
in which there was a possibility that abuses of this kind might 
arise, should not be suffered to exist, and now, or in the next 
session, when the bill should be discussed, should meet with 
the most serious consideration. 

In 1 83 1 and 1832 a parliamentary committee was 
appointed to investigate the question of factory labor 
anew. The following are extracts from the testimony 
given before them. 

Where do you live? At Leeds. Are your father and mother 
living? No; they are dead. What time did you begin to 
work at a mill? When I was six years old. What sort of a 
mill? A woolen mill. Whose? Mr. John Good's, at Huns- 
lett. What were the hours of work? We used to start at five 
and work till nine at night. What time had you for your din- 
ner? Half an hour. What time for breakfast and drinking? 
A quarter of an hour at each end of the day. What wages 
had you? Two shillings .and sixpence. 

Where did you remove to afterwards? My father and 
mother removed to Leeds, and I had a brother working at 
Tetley, Tatham, and Walker's, and they got me work there. 
How long did you stop there ? Three years and a half. What 
were the hours of working there? We used to start at half 
past five and work till half past nine at night. What time 
had you for dinner? Forty minutes. What time for break- 
fast and drinking? Nothing for either. What is Tetley, 
Tatham, and Walker's mill? A flax mill. What were the 
wages there? I had three shillings and sixpence there. What 
was your business? A doffer. 

Where did you go then? To Mr. Hammond's flax mill, at 
Leeds. At about what age? About ten years of age. At 
what time did you begin work at that mill in the morning? 



TJie Period of Reform 693 

We used to start at half past five and work till eight at night. 
What time was allowed for breakfa.st and dinner and drink- 
ing? Forty minutes a day was all that was allowed. How 
were you kept up to your work during the latter part of the 
day? The overlooker used to come with a strap and give us 
a rap or two, or if they caught us asleep they would give us a 
pinch of snuff till we sneezed ; they would give us a slap with 
a strap if we did not mind our work. Was the strap an instru- 
ment capable of hurting you badly ? It was a heavy strap with 
a small handle to it. 

Where did they strike you with it? Generally in the small 
of the back and over the head. Did they strike the young 
children as well as the older ones? Yes. And the females as 
well as the males? Yes, State the effect upon your health of 
those long hours of labor. I was pretty fair in health but hap- 
pened with two or three misfortunes. State, in the first place, 
the effect upon your health and limbs of those long hours of 
labor? It produced a weakness in my knees; I was made 
crooked with standing the long hours. Just show the gentle- 
men your limbs. (The witness exhibited to the committee 
his limbs, which appeared exceedingly crooked.) 

Are you quite sure you were, as a child, perfectly straight 
and well formed? Yes. How old were you before your limbs 
began to fail you? About eight years and a half old. Had 
you any brother or sister working at the mill ? Yes, I had two 
sisters and a brother. Have those long hours of labor had any 
effect upon the rest of your family? Yes, upon one of my 
sisters. Is she crippled? She is nearly as bad as I am. Was 
she originally perfectly straight and well formed? Yes. To 
what age did she continue to be perfectly well formed ? Till 
she was about nine years old. How tall are you ? About four 
feet nine inches. Are you quite certain that the deformity of 
your limbs was not consequent upon the accident you had? 
No, it was not owing to that. You were deformed, as you 
are now, before that? Yes. Were the children unhappy at 
the state in which they were? Yes, they were. Have you 
seen them crying at their work? Yes. Had you time to go 
to a day school or a night school during this labor? No. Can 



694 



Readings in English History 



you write? No, not at all. Had you to work by gaslight? 
Yes. What effect do you think that has upon the eyes? It 
nearly made me blind ; I was forced to go into the infirmary ; 
I was seven weeks there, and the doctors said, towards the 
latter end of the seven weeks, they did not expect they could 
cure me. What do you do now? I sell potatoes. 

Where do you reside? At North Great Huddersfield in 
Yorkshire. Have you worked in factories? Yes. At what 
age did you commence? Seven years of age. At whose mill.'' 
George Addison Bradley's mill, near Huddersfield. What was 
the employment? Worsted spinning. • What were your hours 
of labor at that mill? From five in the morning till eight 
at night. What intervals had you for refreshment? Thirty 
minutes at noon. Had you no time for breakfast or refresh- 
ment in the afternoon ? No, not one minute ; we had to eat 
our meals as we could, standing or otherwise. You had four- 
teen and a half hours of actual labor at seven years of age? 
Yes. What wages had you at that time? Two shillings and 
sixpence a week. Did you not become very drowsy and sleepy 
towards the end of the day, and feel much fatigued? Yes; 
that began about three o'clock and grew worse and worse, 
and it came to be very bad towards six and seven. . . . 

Do you live in Stockport? Yes. What has been your em- 
ployment? A dresser of cotton yarn. In whose factory? In 
Mr. Robinson's. How many of the principal factories have 
you worked at? Mr. Ratcliffe's, Mr. Smith's, and Mr. Robin- 
son's. How many hands do you think are employed in the 
spinning and weaving of cotton in the town and neighborhood 
of Stockport? At least 14,000. What proportion of those are 
children ? I should think more than half. Are a considerable 
majority of those children females? Yes; more than half of 
the children employed in factories are females. What temper- 
ature do you have generally in the factory ? It varies, but it is 
generally very high, — as high as 80°, 90°, 100°, and 110°. 
Are any children employed in that temperature ? Yes ; there 
are children in those rooms. The warps are twisted and 
drawn in the dressing room, and there are children employed 
for those purposes. 



The Period of Reform 695 

The chairman of the committee just referred to, Mr. 
Michael Sadler, who had become deeply interested in 
the question of factory labor, introduced a factory act 
based on the testimony taken by his committee. The 
following are passages from his address. 

The bill which I now implore the House to sanction with 424. Extracts 
its authority has for its object the liberation of children and ^^^"^ address 
other young persons employed in the mills and factories of the factory act 
United Kingdom from that overexertion and long confine- of 1832 
ment which common sense, as well as experience, has shown 
to be utterly inconsistent with the improvement of their minds, 
the preservation of their morals, and the maintenance of their 
health; in a word, to rescue them from a state of suffering 
and degradation, which it is conceived the children of the 
industrious classes in hardly any other country have ever 
endured. . . . 

But, I apprehend, the strongest objections that will be Objections to 
offered on this occasion will be grounded upon the pretense the principle 

, ..,,,, .,f . . ' . ^ , of the bill 

that the very prmciple ot the bill is an improper interference 
between the employer and the employed, and an attempt to 
regulate by law the market of labor. Were that market sup- 
plied by free agents, properly so denominated, I should fully 
participate in these objections. Theoretically, indeed, such is 
the case ; but practically, I fear, the fact is far otherwise, even 
regarding those who are of mature age ; and the boasted free- 
dom of our laborers in many pursuits will, on a just view of 
their condition, be found little more than a name. Those who 
argue the question upon the mere abstract principle seem, in 
my apprehension, too much to forget the condition of society ; 
the unequal division of property, or rather its total monopoly 
by the few, leaving the many nothing but what they can obtain 
by their daily labor, which very labor cannot become avail- 
able for the purposes of daily subsistence without the consent 
of those who own the property of the community ; all the 
materials, elements, call them what you please, on which labor 
can be bestowed, being in their possession. Hence it is clear 



696 



Readings in English History 



that, excepting in a state of things where the demand for labor 
fully equals the supply (which it would be absurdly false to say 
exists in this country), the employer and the employed do not 
meet on equal terms in the market of labor ; on the contrary, 
the latter, whatever his age, and call him as free as you please, 
is often almost entirely at the mercy of the former. . . . 

The parents who surrender their children to this infantile 
slavery may be separated into two classes. The first, and I 
trust by far the most numerous one, consists of those who are 
obliged, by extreme indigence, so to act, but who do it with 
great reluctance and bitter regret. Themselves perhaps out of 
employment, or working at very low wages, and their families 
in a state of great destitution, what can they do? The over- 
seer, as is in evidence, refuses relief if they have children capa- 
ble of working in factories, whom they refuse to send thither. 

They choose, therefore, what they probably deem the lesser 
evil, and reluctantly resign their offspring to the captivity and 
pollution of the mill. They rouse them in the winter morning, 
which, as a poor father testified before the Lords' Committee, 
they "feel very sorry " to do ; they receive them fatigued and 
exhausted, many a weary hour after the day has closed ; they 
see them droop and sicken, and, in many cases, become crip- 
ples and die, before they reach their prime ; and they do all 
this because they must otherwise suffer unrelieved, and starve, 
like Ugolino, amidst their starving children. It is mockery to 
contend that these parents have a choice ; that they can dic- 
tate to, or even parley with, the employer, as to the number 
of hours their child shall be worked or the treatment it shall 
be subject to in his mill. . . . 

I trust, however, that this House, whose peculiar duty it is 
to defend the weak and redress the injured, will interpose and 
extend that protection to these defenseless children, which is 
equally demanded by the principles of justice, mercy, and 
policy. Many have been the struggles made in their behalf, 
but hitherto they have been defeated. The laws passed for 
their protection have been avowedly and shamefully evaded, 
and have therefore had little practical effect but to legalize 
cruelty and suffering. Hence, at this late hour, while I am 



The Period of Reform 697 

thus feebly, but earnestly, pleading the cause of these oppressed 
children, what numbers of them are still tethered to their toil, 
confined in heated rooms, bathed in perspiration, stunned with 
the roar of revolving wheels, poisoned with the noxious effluvia 
of grease and gas, till, at last, weary and exhausted, they turn 
out, almost naked, into the inclement air, and creep, shiver- 
ing, to beds from which a relay of their young work-fellows 
have just risen ! 

A typical instance of the other reforms of this period 
is the reduction of the price of postage and the intro- 
duction of the use of stamps by which the price is paid 
in advance. Some of the hardships of the old system 
are described in the following article in the EdinbiirgJi 
Revieiv, January, 1840, quoting some testimony recently 
collected by a parliamentary committee. 

We are justified in saying that, for the great mass of our 425. The old 
countrymen, the post office does not exist ; for the higher and Post-office 
middle classes sink into nothing if measured by numbers 
against those below them ; and it is only necessary to com- 
pare the income of a laboring man with his pressing wants, to 
see that it is idle to suppose he will apply his little surplus to 
the expensive enjoyment of post letters. It would be easy 
to fill pages with instances of pain and misery which result 
from there being no post office for the poor. We shall con- 
fine ourselves, however, to a few pregnant facts, drawn from 
the evidence. 

The postmaster at Ban well said : " My father kept the post instances of 
office many years ; he is lately dead ; he used to trust poor hardship testi- 
people very often with letters; they generally could not pay postmasters 
the whole charge. He told me, indeed I know, he did lose 
many pounds by letting poor people have their letters. We 
sometimes return them to London, in consequence of the in- 
ability of the persons to whom they are addressed raising the 
postage. We frequently keep them for weeks, and, when we 
know the parties, let them have them, taking the chance of 
getting our money. One poor woman once offered my sister 



698 Readings in English History 

a silver spoon to*keep until she could raise the money. My 
sister did not take the spoon, and the woman came with the 
amount in a day or two, and took up the letter. It came from 
her husband, who was confined for debt in prison ; she had six 
children, and was very badly off. 1 am quite sure, if the post- 
age of letters were lowered to a penny, ten times the number 
would be written by all classes of people." What follows is the 
answer of another postmaster at a large village containing 1500 
or 1600 inhabitants, called Congresbury. "I have had com- 
plaints made of the high rate of postage ; the price of a letter 
is a great tax on poor people. I sent one charged eightpence 
to a poor laboring man about a week ago ; it came from his 
daughter. He first refused it, saying it would take a loaf of 
bread from his other children ; but, after hesitating a little 
time, he paid the money and opened the letter. I seldom 
return letters of this kind to Bristol, because I let the' poor 
people have them and take the chance of being paid. Some- 
times I lose the postage, but generally the poor people pay 
me by degrees." 

The postmaster at Yatton says : "The poor, and rich too, com- 
plain of the high charge of letters, I am quite sure if they were 
not so high, government would lose nothing, — there would 
be so many more written. I have had a letter waiting lately 
from the husband of a poor woman who is at work in Wales ; 
the charge was ninepence ; it lay many days, in consequence 
of her not being able to pay the postage. I at last trusted her 
with it." "Sixpence," says Mr. Brewin, one of the Society of 
Friends, " is a third of a poor man's daily income. If a gen- 
tleman, whose fortune is ^1000 a year, or jQt) ^ clay, had to 
pay one third of his daily income, that is, a sovereign, for a 
letter, how often would he write letters of friendship? Let 
a gentleman put that to himself, and then he will be able to 
see how the poor man cannot be able to pay sixpence for his 
letter. The people do not think of using the post office ; it is 
barred against them by the very high charge." 



The Period of Reform 699 

V, Queen Victoria 

The coronation of the young queen is described in 
the Journal of C. C. F. Greville, then an official con- 
nected with the court. 

The coronation (which, thank God, is over) went off very 426. Extracts 
well. The day was fine, without heat or rain ; the innumera- *rom 
ble multitude which thronged the streets, orderly and satisfied, journal 
The appearance of the abbey was beautiful, particularly the (June 29, 
benches of the peeresses, who were blazing with diamonds. ^ ^ 
The entry of Soult was striking. He was saluted with a murmur 
of curiosity and applause as he passed through the nave, and 
nearly the same as he advanced along the choir. His appear- 
ance is that of a veteran warrior, and he walked alone, with his 
numerous suite following at a respectful distance, preceded by 
heralds and ushers, who received him with marked attention, — 
more certainly than any of the other ambassadors. The queen 
looked very diminutive, and the effect of the procession itself 
was spoiled by being too crowded ; there was not interval 
enough between the queen and the lords and others going 
before her. The bishop of London (Blomfield) preached a very 
good sermon. The different actors in the ceremonial were very 
imperfect in their parts, and had neglected to rehearse them. 

Lord John Thynne, who officiated for the dean of Westmin- 
ster, told me that nobody knew what was to be done except 
the archbishop (who is experienced in these matters) and the 
duke of Wellington, and consequently there was a continual 
difficulty and embarrassment, and the queen never knew what 
she was to do next. They made her leave her chair and enter 
into St. Edward's Chapel before the prayers were concluded, 
much to the discomfiture of the archbishop. She said to John 
Thynne, " Pray tell me what I am to do, for they don't know " ; 
and at the end, when the orb was put into her hand, she said 
to him, "What am I to do with it?" "Your Majesty is to 
carry it, if you please, in your hand." "Am I ?" she said; 
" it is very heavy." The ruby ring was made for her little 
finger instead of the fourth, on which the rubric prescribes 



700 Readings in English History 

that it should be put. 'When the archbishop was to put it on, 
she extended the former, but he said it must be on the latter. 
She said it was too small, and she could not get it on. He said 
it was right to put it there, and, as he insisted, she yielded, 
but had first to take off her- other rings, and then this was 
forced on ; but it hurt her very much, and, as soon as the cere- 
mony was over, she was obliged to bathe her finger in iced 
water in order to get it off. 

The noise and confusion were very great when the medals 
were thrown away by Lord Surrey, everybody scrambling with 
all their might and main to get them, and none more vigor- 
ously than the maids of honor. There was a great demonstra- 
tion of applause when the duke of Wellington did homage. 
Lord Rolle, who is between eighty and ninety, fell down as he 
was getting up the steps of the throne. Her first impulse was 
to rise, and when afterward he came again to do homage she 
said, " May I not get up and meet him? " and then rose from 
the throne and advanced down one or two of the steps to pre- 
vent his coming up, an act of graciousness and kindness which 
made a great sensation. It is, in fact, the remarkable union of 
naivete, kindness, and good nature, with propriety and dignity, 
which makes her so admirable and so endearing to those about 
her, as she certainly is. I have been repeatedly told that they 
are all warmly attached to her, but that all feel the impossibility 
of for a moment losing sight of the respect which they owe her. 
She never ceases to be a queen, but is always the most charming, 
cheerful, obliging, unaffected qlieen in the world. 

An even more personal event in the life of the queen, 
her engagement and marriage, followed in the next year. 
The following letter was written by the young queen to 
her uncle Leopold on the evening of the day she had 
proposed marriage to her cousin Albert. 

My dearest Uncle : 

This letter will, I am sure, give you pleasure, for you have 
always shown and taken so warm an interest in all that concerns 
me. My mind is quite made up, and I told Albert this morning 



The Period of Reform yo i 

of it. The warm affection he showed me on learning this 427. Queen 

gave me great pleasure. He seems perfection! and I think Victoria to 
1 T 1 , r 1 • ^ r Lcopold, king 

that I have the prospect of very great happmess before me. ^f Belgium 

I love him more than I can say, and shall do everything in (from Wind- 
my power to render his sacrifice (for such in my opinion it is) !°^ ^ ^' 
as small as I can. He seems to have great tact, a very neces- 1839) 
sary thing in his position. These last few days have passed 
like a dream to me, and I am so much bewildered by it all 
that I hardly know how to write ; but I do feel very happy. 
It is absolutely necessary that this determination of mine 
should be kno\vn to no one but yourself and to Uncle Ernest 
until after the meeting of parliament, as it would be consid- 
ered, otherwise, neglectful on my part not to have assembled 
parliament at once to inform them of it. 

Lord Melbourne, whom I have of course consulted about The approval 
the whole affair, quite approves my choice, and expresses great of t"e pnme 
satisfaction at this event, which he thinks in every way highly 
desirable. Lord Melbourne has acted in this business, as he 
has always done toward me, with the greatest kindness and 
affection. We also think it better, and Albert quite approves 
of it, that we should be married very soon after parliament 
meets, about the beginning of February. Pray, dearest uncle, 
forward these two letters to Uncle Ernest, to whom I beg you 
will enjoin strict secrecy, and explain these details, which I 
have not time to do, and to faithful Stockmar. I think you 
might tell Louise of it, but none of her family. 

I wish to keep the dear young gentleman here till the end 
of the next month. Ernest's sincere pleasure gives me great 
delight. He does so adore dearest Albert. 

Ever, dearest uncle, your devoted niece, 

V. R. 

VL Chartism and the Corn Laws 

The popular dissatisfaction v^ith the results of the 
Reform Act is clearly expressed in the first petition of 
the Chartists, presented to parliament in 1838. 



702 Readings in English History 

428. The To the honorable the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland, 

first Chartist jj^ parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned 
petition to , t „ . ' r & 

parliament their sunermg countrymen. 

(1838) 

Humbly showeth : 

That we, your petitioners, dwell in a land whose merchants 
are noted for their enterprise, whose manufacturers are very 
skillful, and whose workmen are proverbial for their industry. 
The land itself is goodly, the soil rich, and the temperature 
wholesome. It is abundantly furnished with the materials of 
commerce and trade. It has numerous and convenient har- 
bors. In facility of internal communication it exceeds all 
others. For three and twenty years we have enjoyed a pro- 
found peace. 

Yet with all the elements of national prosperity, and with 
every disposition and capacity to take advantage of them, we 
find ourselves overwhelmed with public and private suffering. 
We are bowed down under a load of taxes, which, notwith- 
standing, fall greatly short of the wants of our rulers. Our 
traders are trembling on the verge of bankruptcy ; our work- 
men are starving. Capital brings no profit, and labor no 
remuneration. The home of the artificer is desolate, and 
the warehouse of the pawTibroker is full. The workhouse is 
crowded, and the manufactory is deserted. We have looked 
on every side ; we have searched diligently in order to find 
out the causes of distress so sore and so long continued. We 
can discover none in nature of in Providence. 
The faihire It was the fond expectation of the friends of the people 

of the Reform ^j^^^j ^ remedy for the greater part, if not for the whole, of 
their grievances would be found in the Reform Act of 1832. 
They regarded that act as a wise means to a worthy end, as 
the machinery of an improved legislation, where the will of 
the masses would be at length potential. They have been 
bitterly and basely deceived. The fruit which looked so fair 
to the eye has turned to dust and ashes when gathered. The 
Reform Act has effected a transfer of power from one domi- 
neering faction to another, and left the people as helpless as 
before. Our slavery has been exchanged for an apprenticeship 



The Period of Reform 703 

to liberty, which has aggravated the painful feelings of our 
social degradation by adding to them the sickening of still 
deferred hope. We come before your honorable house to tell 
you, with all humility, that this state of things must not be per- 
mitted to continue. . . . 

Required, as we are universally, to support and obey the Universal 
laws, nature and reason entitle us to demand that in the s'^^^age 
making of the laws the universal voice shall be implicitly 
listened to. We perform the duties of freemen ; we must have 
the privileges of freemen. Therefore we demand universal 
suffrage. The suffrage, to be exempt from the corruption of Secret ballot 
the wealthy and the violence of the powerful, must be secret. 
The assertion of our right necessarily involves the power of 
its uncontrolled exercise. We ask for the reality of a good, 
not for its semblance ; therefore we demand the ballot. The Annual 
connection between the representatives and the people, to be Parliaments 
beneficial, must be intimate. The legislative and constituent 
powers, for correction and for instruction, ought to be brought 
into frequent contact. Errors which are comparatively light 
when susceptible of a speedy popular remedy may produce 
the most disastrous effects when permitted to grow inveterate 
through years of compulsory endurance. To public safety, as 
well as public confidence, frequent elections are essential. 
Therefore we demand annual parliaments. 

With power to choose, and freedom in choosing, the range Abolition of 
of our choice must be unrestricted. We are compelled by Property 

, . . , . r . , qualifications 

the existmg laws to take for our representatives men who 
are incapable of appreciating our difficulties, or have little 
sympathy with them ; merchants who have retired from trade 
and no longer feel its harassings ; proprietors of land who are 
alike ignorant of its evils and its cure ; lawyers by whom the 
notoriety of the senate is courted only as a means of obtain- 
ing notice in the courts. The labors of a representative who Payment of 
is sedulous in the discharge of his duty are numerous and "members 
burdensome. It is neither just, nor reasonable, nor safe, that 
they should continue to be gratuitously rendered. We demand 
that in the future election of members of your honorable 
house, the approbation of the constituency shall be the sole 



704 Readings in EiiglisJi History 

qualification, and that to every representative so chosen shall 
be assigned out of the public taxes a fair and adequate remuner- 
ation for the time which he is called upon to devote to the 
public service. 

The management of this mighty kingdom has hitherto been 
a subject for contending factions to try their selfish experi- 
ments upon. We have felt the consequences in our sorrowful 
experience, — short glimmerings of uncertain enjoyment swal- 
lowed up by long and dark seasons of suffering. If the self- 
government of the people should not remove their distresses, 
it will, at least, remove their repinings. Universal suffrage 
will, and it alone can, bring true and lasting peace to the 
nation ; we firmly believe that it will also bring prosperity. 
May it therefore please your honorable house to take this 
our petition into your most serious consideration, and to use 
your utmost endeavors, by all constitutional means, to have a 
law passed, granting to every male of lawful age, sane mind, 
and unconvicted of crime, the right of voting for members of 
parliament, and directing all future elections of members of 
parliament to be in the way of secret ballot, and ordaining 
that the duration of parliament, so chosen, shall in no case 
exceed one year, and abolishing all property qualifications in 
the members, and providing for their due remuneration while 
in attendance on their parliamentary duties. 

And your petitioners shall ever pray. 

The more violent and threatening form of Chartism, 
as it developed itself during the summer of 1848, ten 
years after the date of the petition just given, is shown 
in the following passages from the Journal of Charles 
Greville, clerk of the council, which has been quoted 
from before. 

429. Extracts All London is making preparations to encounter a Chartist 
from ^ j.Q^ to-morrow ; so much, that it is either very sublime or very 
Jonltmi ridiculous. All the clerks and others in the different offices 
are ordered to be sworn in special constables, and to consti- 
tute themselves into garrisons. I went to the police office 



The Period of Reform 705 

with all my clerks, messengers, etc., and we were all sworn. April 9, 18. 
We are to pass the whole day at the ofifice to-morrow, and I 
am to send down all my guns ; in short, we are to take a 
warlike attitude. Colonel Harness, of the Railway Depart- 
ment, is our commander in chief; every gentleman in Lon- 
don is become a constable, and there is an organization of 
some sort in every district. . . . 

Monday passed off with surprising quiet, and it was con- April 13, iJ 
sidered a most satisfactory demonstration on the part of the 
government and the peaceable and loyal part of the com- 
munity. Enormous preparations were made, g.nd a host of 
military, police, and special constables were ready if wanted ; 
every gentleman in London was sworn, and during a greater 
part of the day, while the police were reposing, they did duty. 
The Chartist movement was contemptible ; but everybody 
rejoices that the defensive demonstration was made, for it has 
given a great and memorable lesson which will not be thrown 
away, either on the disaffected and mischievous or the loyal 
and peaceful ; and it will produce a vast effect in all foreign 
countries and show how solid is the foundation on which we 
are resting. We have displayed a great resolution and a great 
strength and given unmistakable proofs that if sedition and 
rebellion hold up their heads in this country, they will be 
instantly met with the most rigorous resistance, and be put 
down by the hand of authority, and by the zealous coopera- 
tion of all classes of the people. 

The whole of the Chartist movement was to the last degree 
contemptible from first to last. The delegates who met on 
the eve of the day were full of valor amounting to desperation ; 
they indignantly rejected the intimation of the government 
that their procession would not be allowed ; swore they would 
have it at all hazard, and die, if necessary, in asserting their 
rights. One man said he loved his life, his wife, his children, 
but would sacrifice all rather than give way. 

In the morning (a very fine day) everybody was on the 
alert ; the parks were closed ; our office was fortified, a barri- 
cade of Council Registers was erected in the accessible room 
on the ground-floor, and all our guns were taken down to be 



. 7o6 Readings in English History 

used in defense of the building. However, at about twelve 
o'clock crowds came streaming along Whitehall, going north- 
ward, and it was announced that all was over. The intended 
tragedy was rapidly changed into a ludicrous farce. The 
Chartists, about 20,000 in number, assembled on Kennington 
Mayne, chief Common. Presently Mr. Mayne appeared on the ground and 
of the police ^^^^ ^^^ ^f j^jg inspectors to say he wanted to speak to Feargus 
O'Connor, one O'Connor. Feargus thought he was going to be arrested and 
of the Chartist was in a terrible fright; but he went to Mayne, who merely 
leaders ^^j^ ^^ ^^^^ desired to inform him that the meeting would not 

be interfered , with, but the procession would not be allowed. 
Feargus insisted on shaking hands with Mayne, swore he was 
his best of friends, and instantly harangued his rabble, advis- 
ing them not to provoke a collision, and to go away quietly — 
advice they instantly obeyed, and with great alacrity and good 
humor. Thus all evaporated in smoke. 

Feargus himself then repaired to the Home Office, saw Sir 
George Grey, and told him it was all over, and thanked the 
government for their leniency, assuring him the convention 
would not have been so lenient if they had got the upper 
hand. Grey asked him if he was going back to the meeting. 
He said no ; that he had had his toes trodden on till he was 
lame, and his pockets picked, and he would have no more to 
do with it. The petition was brought down piecemeal and 
presented in the afternoon. Since that there has been an ex- 
posure of the petition itself, covering the authors of it with 
ridicule and disgrace. It turns out to be signed by less than 
two millions, instead of by six as Feargus stated ; and of those 
two, there were no end of fictitious names, together with the 
insertion of every species of ribaldry, indecency, and imper- 
tinence. The Chartists are very crestfallen, and evidently con- 
scious of the contemptible figure they cut ; but they have 
endeavored to bluster and lie as well as they can in their 
subsequent gatherings, and talk of other petitions and meet- 
ings, which nobody cares about. 

Two months later Greville does not feel so contemptu- 
ous of the Chartists, nor so unsympathetic with them. 



The Period of Reform 707 

The government are now getting seriously uneasy about the June 3, 18, 
Chartist manifestations in various parts of the country, espe- 
cially in London, and at the repeated assemblings and march- 
ings of great bodies of men. Le Marchant told me that two 
or three mohths ago, when he was at the Home Office, he 
received accounts he thought very alarming of the widespread- 
ing disaffection of the people, and particularly of the enormous 
increase of cheap publications of the most mischievous and 
inflammatory character, which were disseminated among the 
masses and eagerly read ; and lately accounts have been 
received from well-informed persons, whose occupations lead 
them to mix with the people, clergymen — particularly Roman 
Catholic — and medical men, who report that they find a great 
change for the worse among them, an increasing spirit of dis- 
content and disaffection, and that many who on the loth of 
April went out as special constables declare they would not do 
so again if another manifestation required it. 

The speeches which are made at the different meetings are 
remarkable for the coarse language and savage spirit they 
display. It is quite new to hear any Englishman coolly recom- 
mend assassination, and the other day a police superintendent 
was wounded in the leg by some sharp instrument. These are 
new and very bad symptoms, and it is impossible not to feel 
alarm when we consider the vast amount of the population as 
compared with any repressive power we possess. The extent 
and reality of the distress they suffer, the impossibility of 
expecting such masses of people to be eternally patient and 
forbearing, to restrain all their natural impulses, and endure 
tamely severe privations when they are encouraged and stimu- 
lated to do otherwise, and are thus accessible to every sort of 
internal and external temptation — all these considerations 
may well beget a serious presentiment of danger. . . . 

The government have at last taken strong measures against June 10, i{ 
the Chartists ; but in spite of the arrest of some of their 
leaders, another demonstration is expected on Monday, for 
which great preparations are to be made. . . . But if these 
multitudes of discontented men can be daunted into submission, 
fearful considerations remain behind. We have an enormous 



7o8 Readings ifi English History 

overgrown population, a vast proportion of which are in un- 
deniable misery and distress, and are soured and exasperated 
by their sufferings. To expect such beings to be reasonable, 
and still more to be logical, is to expect a moral impossibility. 
While the minds of the masses are in a combustible state, and 
they are ready to listen to anybody who appears to sympathize 
with them, and who pretends to be able to put them in the 
way of mending their condition, there are not wanting agents 
who strive with all their might, and not without success, to 
inflame and mislead them. The suffering people are prompt 
to believe that that cannot be a sound and just condition of 
society in which they are abandoned to starvation and desti- 
tution, while other classes are revelling in luxury and enjoy- 
ment. They have confused notions that this is all wrong, and 
that under some different political dispensation their interests 
would be better cared for, and according to their necessities 
they would be comforted and relieved. They are neither able 
to comprehend nor disposed to listen to the long processes of 
argument by which it might be demonstrated to them that all 
the prevailing misery and distress are attributable to causes 
over which government has no control, and which no legislation 
can counteract. 

From time to time during this whole period appeared 
a series of bitter poems by Ebenezer Elliott. They are 
spoken of collectively as the Corn-Law Rhymes, because 
so many of them were directed against the laws laying 
a tax on the importation of grain; but the real objects 
of attack are the landlords and other members of the 
governing classes. 

430. Extracts Avenge the plunder'd poor, oh Lord ! 

from the But not with fire, but not with sword. 

Rhymes Not as at Pctcrloo they ^ied. 

Beneath the hoofs of coward pride. 

Avenge our rags, our chains, our sighs, 

The famine in our children's eyes ! 

But not with sword — no, not with fire 



TJie Period of Reform 709 

Chastise thou Britain's locustry ! 
Lord, let them feel thy heavier ire ; 
Whip them, oh Lord ! with poverty ! 
Then, cold in soul as coffined dust, 
Their hearts as tearless, dead, and dry, 
Let them in outraged mercy trust, 
And find that mercy they deny ! 

Bread-tax eating absentee. 

What hath bread- tax done for thee? — 

Crammed thee from our children's plates, 

Made thee all that nature hates, 

Filled thy skin with untaxed wine, 

Filled thy purse with cash of mine. 

Filled thy breast with hellish schemes. 

Filled thy head with fatal dreams 

Of potatoes basely sold 

At the price of wheat in gold. 

And of Britons styed to eat 

Wheat-priced roots instead of wheat. 

England ! what for mine and me, 
What hath bread-tax done for thee? 
It hath shown what kinglings are, 
Stripp'd the hideous idols bare. 
Sold thy greatness, stain 'd thy name, 
Struck thee from the rolls of fame. 



Make haste, slow rogues ! prohibit trade, 

Prohibit honest gain ; 
Turn all the good that God hath made 

To fear, and hate, and pain ; 
Till beggars all, assassins all, 

All cannibals we be. 
And death shall have no funeral, 

From shipless sea to sea. 



7IO Readings in English History 

Child, what hast thou with sleep to do? 

Awake, and dry thine eyes ! 
Thy tiny hands must labor too ; 

Our bread is taxed. Arise ! 
Arise, and toil long hours twice seven, 

For pennies two or three ; 
Thy woes make angels weep in heaven, — 

But England still is free. 

Up, weary man of eighty-five, 

And toil in hopeless woe ! 
Our bread is tax'd, our rivals thrive, 

Our gods will have it so. 
Yet God is undethroned on high. 

And undethron'd will be : 
Father of all ! hear thou our cry, 

And England shall be free ! 



The connection between existing distress and the 
corn laws is strongly brought out in the following report 
in the Times of a meeting among the poor and ignorant 
agricultural laborers in Wiltshire. 

431. A meet- A meeting of a very remarkable and important character at 

ing of laborers ^^ present crisis was held last night at a villas^e, six miles be- 
in Wiltshire ^ , . „ j ^. ,, , ■ , . , 

(January 7, yond this town, called Goatacre, a small place with an agricul- 

1846) tural population scarcely exceeding 200 persons, but surrounded 

at various distances by several similar villages or hamlets. The 
chairman was a labourer ; the speakers, with the exception of 
two, were labourers ; and the object in view was to call public 
attention to the present condition of the labouring population 
in this part of the country, and to petition her Majesty and the 
legislature to take decisive steps for the speedy relief of their 
extreme distress. The meeting was to have been held in a 
large booth erected in a field, but the great expense of pro- 
viding such accommodation was beyond the combined contri- 
butions which these poor people could spare from their very 



The Period of Reform 711 

scanty means ; and therefore they were compelled to assemble 
together in the crossroads of the village, and to endure the 
inclemency of a winter night while they talked over their com- 
mon sufferings. 

The whole of the arrangements and proceedings were strik- 
ingly characteristic of the occasion. A hurdle, supported by 
four stakes driven into the ground, beneath a hedge on the 
roadside, formed a narrow and unsteady platform, capable of 
supporting only the chairman and one speaker at a time. Be- 
low this rustic erection were placed a small deal table and 
some rush-bottom chairs, borrowed from a neighbouring cot- 
tage, for the accommodation of reporters. Four or five candles, 
some in lanterns and others sheltered from the wind by the 
hands that held them, threw a dim and flickering light upon 
the groups on this spot, before and around which were gathered 
nearly 1000 of the peasantry of Wiltshire, some of them ac- 
companied by their wives and children, who, thus collected, 
presented a wild and painful appearance. . . . 

The chairman then said : " To all who are here present, and 
to my poor fellow-labourers in particular : I call your attention 
to a subject of the utmost importance, — a subject which de- 
mands very serious consideration. You know by painful experi- 
ence that we are suffering under distress and poverty ; and we 
are met here this evening on purpose to make known that dis- 
tress to her Majesty and to her ministers, to pray them to open 
the ports and to repeal the unjust corn laws, so that we and 
our families may enjoy the bounties of Providence. (Hear, 
hear.) As it respects my own distress, and the calamities and 
miseries I have underwent and undergone, I have spoken of 
them before at the Ramsbury meeting. But the case is not 
altered now. I have only six shillings a week for keeping my- 
self, a wife, and two small children. I cannot earn half enough 
to keep us. Six pounds ten shillings must go to pay house 
and garden rent, and no potatoes got. (Hear.) I say, then, 
let us unite together to advocate the cause of free trade. 
(Cheers.) Free trade forever ! (Repeated cheers.) 

" What was it we were sent into the world for? Is it not for 
the benefit of society ? Hath God not committed to us a talent, 



712 Readings in English History 

and will he not require the use of it at our hands? (Hear, 
hear.) There are classes of people in this world, but perhaps 
they are unknown to many of you, that think that, because 
God brings all things to pass according to his unalterable 
decrees, they may sit down and rest contented, and never 
think of doing anything at all, except it is to usurp the author- 
ity of God. They may look into his sacred word, but with his 
revealed will they will have nothing to do. Dost thou not know, 
O man ! that thou wast endowed with a mind, and will, and 
faculties, which God works upon as his instruments to bring 
about his all- wise purposes? . . . 
Universal " Let US Stand up, my fellow-labourers, for good laws, for 
suffrage freedom, for equality. (Loud cheers.) I envy not the rich 
man for his riches ; but is it not unreasonable and arbitrary 
that the rich should be endowed with the full and sole power 
to send members to parliament to legislate? (Hear, hear.) 
The laws press upon the poor who never had any power in 
making them. (Hear, hear.) But I do think the time will 
come when every labouring householder will have the privilege 
of sending members to parliament. (Cheers.) When every man 
comes under the pywer of every law that is made, ought not 
every man to have a voice in the making of that law ? (Hear, 
hear.) And now a word or two for the protectionists. ..." 
Free trade The labourers must be persecuted for meeting together ; but 
farmers and landowners might meet and devise how to starve 
the poor labourers, and that was all right. (A voice, "Never 
mind ; it won't last long.") He hoped not. His master (Mr. 
Wansborough) said that free trade would starve them. (Cries 
of " Let 's try it; why, we be starving now.") He said, "You 
won't have any money if you have free trade." How many in 
that meeting had money? He would venture to say none. (A 
labourer : " I have been five weeks without a farthing in my 
pocket; I have never see'd any money all that time.") He 
saw no hope for them but in free trade. There was plenty of 
bread and meat waiting to come into this country, but the 
com laws would not let it come. Their cry, then, must be, 
" Free trade, free trade forever ! " (Cheers.) [This report was 
subsequently reprinted and circulated as a free-trade pamphlet.] 



The Period of Rcfo?'m 713 

The potato blight was net pecuHar to Ireland ; but it 
was a greater calamity to that country than to England 
and Scotland, because potatoes were relatively a far 
more important crop and a larger element in the food 
of the people. The following letter from a London 
potato dealer and grower to the home secretary describes 
the sudden appearance of the disease in the southeast 
of England. 

I received a letter on the ist inst. from my agent at Ash, 432. R. Park- 
near Sandwich, stating the crops were blighted in that neigh- ^'^ *° ^^'' J- 
borhood the same as in October last year (it was then only (August n 
partial in East Kent). On Tuesday last I went down by the 1845) 
Dover eight o'clock train ; on my arrival there I immediately 
drove all round the neighborhood, and found the whole of the 
crops, early and late, not excepting the cottagers' gardens, were 
being entirely destroyed. On my return I could trace it by the 
side of the whole line at Tonbridge ; have since looked over 
the potato tops that come as covering on that article to the 
different markets, and find they are all affected. On Thursday 
last I paid a visit to my farm at Maidstone, and found it had 
made fearful destruction there, and returned by way of Grave- 
send — all were alike affected. The same evening I went to 
East and West Ham in Essex ; amongst the large growths 
found it was just appearing. Friday I went to Leytonstone 
and neighborhood — all are alike. 

I am given to understand it is so in Holland and France, 
and should it be general in this country, it will be a shocking 
calamity for the poor. Being apprehensive it might be general, 
I thought it my duty to inform you, thinking it probable you 
might think it of importance to make further inquiry. 

As soon as the ministers learned of the prevalence 
of the disease in Ireland they saw that it would bring 
up the question of the Corn Laws. This appears from 
the following letter from the home secretary to the 
prime minister. 



714 Readings in English History 

433. Sir J. The enclosed letter from the lord lieutenant of Ireland con- 
Graham to ygyg ^Q US iuformation of the most serious kind, which requires 
Pggj our immediate attention. I am willing still to hope that the 

present fears are exaggerated; for the reports have varied 
almost from day to day, and it was admitted about a fort- 
night ago that greater apprehensions were entertained with 
respect to the potato crop in Ireland than the facts ascer- 
tained fully justified. 

On the other hand, the time has now arrived when the 
potatoes are taken out of the ground, and when speculation 
on the subject is reduced to certainty. A great national risk 
is always incurred when a population so dense as that of Ire- 
land subsists on the potato; for it is the cheapest and the 
lowest food, and if it fail no substitute can be found for 
starving multitudes. 

It will be necessary after this warning that we should apply 
our immediate thoughts and attention to measures which may 
mitigate this national calamity ; for human skill can supply 
no remedy. 

In Belgium and in Holland, if I mistake not, a similar evil 
has been met by opening the ports to all articles of first neces- 
sity for human foed. It is desirable that we should know, 
without loss of time, what has been done by our continental 
neighbors in similar circumstances. Indian corn might be 
obtained from the United States readily, and on cheap terms, 
if the people would eat it, but unfortunately it is an acquired 
taste ; and if we opened the ports to maize duty free, most 
popular and irresistible arguments present themselves why 
flour and oatmeal, the staple of the food of man, should not 
be restricted in its supply by artificial means, while heaven 
has withheld from an entire people its accustomed sustenance. 
Could we with propriety remit duties in November by order 
in council, when parliament might so easily be called together ? 
Can these duties, once remitted by act of parliament, be ever 
again reimposed? Ought they to be maintained with their 
_ present stringency, if the people of Ireland be reduced to the 
last extremity for want of food? . . . [The suspension of the 
duties on grain led to the adoption of free trade.] 



The Period of Reform 715 

It is very unusual for parliament or any other branch 
of the EngUsh government to lay down general princi- 
ples. An exception, however, was made in 1852, when 
the following statement of the benefits of freedom of 
trade was introduced by Lord Palmerston, and adopted 
by a large vote. It was long acquiesced in, and is still 
accepted by a majority of the people, but not without 
deep and increasing opposition. 

That it is the opinion of this House that the improved con- 434. Aresolu- 
dition of the country, and especially of the industrious classes, ^V^" ^° *^^°"^ 
is mainly the result of recent legislation, which has established (November 
the principle of unrestricted competition and abolished taxes 23, 1852) 
imposed for purposes of protection, and has thereby diminished 
the cost and increased the abundance of the principal articles 
of food to the people. 

That it is the opinion of this House that that policy, firmly 
maintained and prudently extended, will best enable the 
industry of the country to bear its burdens, and will thereby 
most surely promote the welfare and contentment of the 
people. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY, 1852-1897 

I. The Middle Years of the Century 

The great rebellion in India, which followed so closely 
on the Crimean War, consisted of a confused series of 
risings, massacres, and conflicts. The following letters 
were written home by Major Hodder, an English ofBcer 
engaged in the difficult task of recapturing Delhi, the 
most important point in the whole campaign of recon- 
quest. He was killed in the final and successful assault, 
at the moment of victory. His letters show very well 
the plain, matter-of-fact, but faithful, brave, and deter- 
mined attitude of the average English officer. 

435. Letters We got here after two nights of very harassing marching. 

of Major W. -^y^ Started badlv, the men having been drinking before thev 
I. R. Hodder ,,, ,-1 ,. ■ 

Umboia, May came to parade, and they were hurried too much m gomg 

i5> "857 downhill, consequently there was much straggling; but, thanks 

to ponies and carts and elephants, sent out to meet us, we 

got in to-day in tolerable completeness. Affairs are very 

serious, and unless very prompt and serious measures are 

taken, the whole army, and perhaps a large portion of India, 

will be lost to us. Delhi is in the hands of the mutineers, — no 

European that we can hear of being left alive there ; men, 

women, and children, all who were caught, have been 

butchered ! Brigadier Graves, Abbott, and some others have 

escaped. Willoughby, the ordnance commissary in charge of 

the magazine and arsenal, is said to have fired it himself to 

prevent the mutineers having possession of the contents to 

716 



Tlie Groivth of Deuwcracy 717 

arm themselves with, of course sacrificing his own Hfe to such 
a duty. A lac and a half of muskets would otherwise have 
been in the hands of the insurgents. 

The commander in chief came in this morning. Here alarm 
is the prevalent feeling, and conciliation, of men with arms in 
their hands and in a state of absolute rebellion, the order of 
the day. This system, if pursued, is far more dangerous than 
anything the Sepoys can do to us. There is an outbreak at 
Ferozepoor, but the Europeans have the fort in their posses- 
sion ; if not, we should be without arms, for the regiments here 
have no ammunition, and Philour, our nearest source of supply, 
was nearly falling into the hands of the Sepoys. Even now 
some say it is at their mercy. Fortunately the Maharaja of 
Puttiala is stanch, and so are other Sikh chiefs hereabouts. 
We shall go on to Delhi in a few days. That city is in the 
hands of the insurgents, and the king proclaimed emperor of 
Hindostan ! I do trust that the authorities will act with vigor, 
else there is no knowing where the affair will end. O for 
Sir Charles Napier now ! 

We are all terribly anxious about the hill stations, reports May 17 
having reached us that the Goorkhas have mutinied and attacked 
Simla. One hundred men with ammunition have gone off this 
morning to Kussowlee. Dugshai is easily defended. Simla is 
most to be feared. ... All this has put out of my head for 
the time the good news for us. Yesterday I was sent for by 
the commander in chief, and appointed assistant quartermaster 
general on his personal staff, to be under the immediate orders 
of his excellency, and with command to raise 100 horses and 
50 foot, for service in the intelligence department, and as per- 
sonal escort. All this was done, moreover, in a most compli- 
mentary way, and it is quite in my line. I am prepared to set 
to work vigorously ; but I confess my anxiety on account of 
the reports we hear respecting the hill stations makes me 
cruelly anxious, . . . 

This morning the commander in chief ordered me to raise May 19 
and command an entire new regiment of irregular horse. I 
do not know who or what has been at work for me, but he 



7 1 8 Readings in English History 

seems willing enough to give me work to do and I am willing 
enough to do it. The European troops arrived this morning 
(I sent a telegraph message to say so) ; and the Rajah of 
Jheend, with his men, last night. I have offered to clear the 
road and open the communication to Meerut and Delhi with 
the Rajah's horse. If the chief will consent, I think I am sure 
of success. It is believed that nothing has occurred at Agra. 
The Punjaub all quiet up to last night ; as long as that is the 
case we shall do. With God and our Saxon arms to aid us I 
have firm faith in the result. 

I wrote this morning a few hurried lines to keep you from 
anxiety. I was too tired to do more ; the continued night 
work had wearied me out, and when I got back from here at 
half-past six this morning I was fairly dead beat. Poor Charlie 
Thomason is with me. I am happy to have been in some 
measure instrumental in getting him in in safety by offering a 
heavy sum to the villagers. He had been wandering about in 
the jungles, with several other refugees, for days without food 
or shelter. I am deeply grieved for him, poor fellow ! The 
state of panic at Meerut was shocking ; all the ladies shut up 
in an inclosed barrack, and their husbands sleeping in the 
men's barracks for safety and never going beyond the sentries. 

Colonel Hope commands. The Meerut folks have had 
another fight (on the 31st) with the Delhi mutineers, and 
again beaten them ; but this constant exposure is very 
trying to Europeans. I wish we were moving nearer Delhi 
more rapidly, as all now depends on our quickly disposing of 
this mighty sore. I wish from my heart we had Sir Henry 
Lawrence here ; he is the man for the crisis. We are all in 
high spirits ; only eager to get at the villains who have com- 
mitted atrocities which make the blood run cold but to think 
of. I trust the retribution will be short, sharp, and decisive. 

Another batch of half-starved, half-naked Europeans, men, 
women, and children (a deputy collector and his family), were 
brought into camp to-day, after wandering twenty-three days 
in the jungle. 



The Givivth of Democracy 719 

I wrote you a few hurried lines on the field of battle yester- Camp before 
day, to say that we had beaten the enemy and driven them Delhi, June 9 
back five miles into Delhi. How grateful rest was after such a 
morning ! The Guides came in to-day, and it would have done 
your heart good to see the welcome they gave me, cheering 
and shouting and crowding round me like frantic creatures. . . . 

The enemy are at least four or five times our strength, and 
their numbers tell when we come near them, despite their want 
of discipline. They are splendid artillerymen, however, and 
actually beat ours in accuracy of fire. . . . 

We were to have taken Delhi by assault last night, but a June 13 
" mistake of orders " as to the right time of bringing the troops 
to the rendezvous, prevented its execution. I am much an- 
noyed and disappointed at our plan not having been carried 
out, because I am confident it would have been successful. 
The rebels were cowed, and perfectly ignorant of any inten- 
tion of so bold a stroke on our part as an assault ; the surprise 
would have done everything. I am very vexed, though the gen- 
eral is most kind and considerate in trying to soothe my disap- 
pointment ; too kind, indeed, or he would not so readily have 
pardoned those whose fault it is that we are still outside Delhi. 

The rebels came out again this morning in considerable June 23 
force, with the avowed intention of attacking us on all sides. 
They have been frustrated, however, save on one point, and' 
firing is still going on. They do little more than annoy us, and 
the only great evil they cause is the keeping our men out for 
hours in this scorching heat. The worst of all is that we can 
do but little harm to them, as they are well under cover. TJie 
rascals most forward to-day are the Jullundar troops, who ought 
never to have been allowed to join the king of the rebels here 
at Delhi ; why they were not pursued and cut up is at present 
a mystery, but indignation is strong in camp against those who 
suffered their escape. . . . 

An amusing story is told apropos of the fight this morning. 
A rascally Tandy, thinking all was over, put his head out of the 
window of one of the houses in the shade of which a few Euro- 
peans and Goorkhas were resting. One of the latter jumped 



720 Readings in Etiglish History 

up, laid hold of the rebel by his hair, and with one chop of his 
" kookrie " took off his head. Atkinson should make a sketch 
of this for the Illustrated News. . . . 

July 25 There is much that is disappointing and disgusting to a 
man who feels that more might have been done, but I com- 
fort myself with the thought that history (if Russell, not 
Macaulay, writes it) will do justice to the constancy and forti- 
tude of the handful of Englishmen who have for so many 
weeks — months, I may say — of desperate weather, amid 
the greatest toil and hardship, resisted and finally defeated the 
worst and most strenuous exertions of an entire army and a 
whole nation in arms — an army trained by ourselves, and 
supplied with all but exhaustless munitions of war, laid up by 
ourselves for the maintenance of our empire. I venture to 
aver that no other nation in the world would have remained 
here, or avoided defeat had they attempted to do so. 

The delay as yet has been both morally and politically bad 
in many wayj, and the results are already beginning to be 
manifest, but in the end it will increase our prestige and the 
moral effects of our power. A nation which could conquer a 
country like the Panjaub so recently with an Hindostanee 
army, and then turn the energies of the conquered Sikhs to 
subdue the very army by which they were tamed ; which could 
fight out a position like Peshawur for years in the very teeth 
of the Afghan tribes, and then, when suddenly deprived of 
the regiments which effected this, could unhesitatingly employ 
those very tribes to disarm and quell those regiments when 
in mutiny — a nation which could do this is destined indeed 
to rule the world ; and the races of Asia must succumb. This 
is a proud feeling, and nerves one's arm in many a time of 
difficulty and danger, as much almost as the conviction that 
we must conquer, or worse than death awaits us. 

The intelligence of Sir H. Wheeler's destruction came to 
us from too true a source to be doubted, — it was in dear Sir 
Henry Lawrence's own handwriting, and has been confirmed, 
alas, too surely. All we do not know is whether the women 
and children were massacred with the men. . . . 



The Grotvth of Democracy 721 

One of my news letters reports that eighteen women are in Nana Sahib, 
prison under the care of Nana Sahib (Bajee Rao Peishwar's the betrayer 
adopted son), who attacked Cawnpore. You must remember ^t Cawnpore 
at the artillery review a very " swell " looking native gentle- 
man, accompanied by another educated native, who spoke 
French and other European languages and was talking a good 
deal to Alfred Light. Well, this was the identical Nana Sahib 
who has done all this, and who must even at that very time 
have been meditating the treachery, if not the murders. 

When the storm of the mutiny was over the queen 
announced her pardon of the rebels and the final transfer 
of India from the East India Company to the crown of 
England, in the following proclamation. 

Victoria, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of 436. Procia- 

Great Britain and Ireland, and of the Colonies and Depend- ™^*'°° °f 

, ^ . ^ A ■ A r ■ A • iA Queen Victo- 

encies thereof m Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Austra- ria to the 

lasia. Queen, Defender of the Faith. people of 

Whereas, for divers weighty reasons, we have resolved, by ° ^^ (^858; 
and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and 
temporal and commons, in parliament assembled, to take 
upon ourselves the government of the territories in India, 
heretofore administered in trust for us by the Honorable 
East India Company. 

Now, therefore, we do by these presents notify and declare 
that, by the advice and consent aforesaid, we have taken upon 
ourselves the said government ; and we hereby call upon all 
our subjects within the said territories to be faithful, and to 
bear true allegiance to us, our heirs and successors, and to sub- 
mit themselves to the authority of those whom we may hereafter 
from time to time see fit to appoint to administer the govern- 
ment of our said territories in our name and on our behalf. 

We hereby announce to the native princes of India, that all 
treaties and engagements made with them by or under the 
authority of the Honorable East India Company are by us 
accepted, and will be scrupulously maintained, and we look 
for the like observance on their part. 



722 Readings in English History 

We desire no extension of our present territorial posses- 
sions; and, while we will permit no aggression upon our 
dominions or our rights to be attempted with impunity, we 
shall sanction no encroachment on those of others. We shall 
respect the rights, dignity, and honour of native princes as 
our own; and we desire that they, as well as our own subjects, 
should enjoy that prosperity and that social advancement which 
can only be secured by internal peace and good government. 
We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian ter- 
ritories by the same obligations of duty which bind us to 
our other subjects, and those obligations, by the blessing of 
Almighty God, we shall faithfully and conscientiously fulfill. 
Religious Firmly relying ourselves on the truth of Christianity, and 
freedom acknowledging with gratitude the solace of religion, we dis- 
claim alike the right and the desire to impose our convictions 
on any of our subjects. We declare it to be our royal will and 
pleasure that none be in anywise favoured, none molested or 
disquieted, by reason of their religious faith or observances, 
but that all shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial protec- 
tion of the law ; and we do strictly charge and enjoin all 
those who may be in authority under us that they abstain from 
all interference with the religious belief or worship of any of 
our subjects on pain of our highest displeasure. 

And it is our further will that, as far as may be, our sub- 
jects, of whatever race or creed, be freely and impartially 
admitted to offices in our service, the duties of which they 
may be qualified by their education, ability, and integrity, 
duly to discharge. . . . 
Amnesty Our clemency will be extended to all offenders, save and 
except those who have been or shall be convicted of having 
directly taken part in the murder of British subjects. With 
regard to such the demands of justice forbid the exercise of 
mercy. 

To those who have willingly given asylum to murderers, 
knowing them to be such, or who may have acted as leaders 
or instigators in revolt, their lives alone can be guaranteed ; but 
in apportioning the penalty due to such persons, full considera- 
tion will be given to the circumstances under which they have 



TJie GroxvtJi of Democracy 723 

been induced to throw off their allegiance ; and large indul- 
gence will be shown to those whose crimes may appear to have 
originated in too credulous acceptance of the false reports cir- 
culated by designing men. 

To all others in arms against the government we hereby 
promise unconditional pardon, amnesty, and oblivion of all 
offenses against ourselves, our crown and dignity, on their re- 
turn to their homes and peaceful pursuits. 

An early view of the two men, Disraeli and Gladstone, 
who were so long to be the most prominent political 
leaders in parliament and in the country is given in the 
following contemporary description of a scene in parlia- 
ment in 1838. Neither the author's estimate of Mr. 
Gladstone's character nor his prophecy of his future 
career was very accurate, but it is to be remembered 
that Mr. Gladstone's character was not a simple one nor 
his political development entirely consistent. 

When he [Disraeli] rose, which he did immediately after 437. Mr. Dis- 

Mr. O'Connell had concluded his speech, all eyes were fixed ""^^'^ ^^^ ^^• 

, . , „ ,. 1 • 1 , Gladstone 

on hm.1, and all ears were open to listen to his eloquence ; but (1838) 

before he had proceeded far he furnished a striking illustration 

of the hazard that attends on highly wrought expectations. Mr. Disraeli's 

After the first few minutes he met with every possible mani- ^""^^ speech 

festation of opposition and ridicule from the ministerial benches, 

and was, on the other hand, cheered in the loudest and most 

earnest manner by his Tory friends ; and it is particularly 

deserving of mention that even Sir Robert Peel, who very 

rarely cheers any honorable gentleman, not even the most 

able and accomplished speakers of his own party, greeted Mr. 

Disraeli's speech with a prodigality of applause which must 

have been severely trying to the worthy baronet's lungs. 

At one time, in consequence of the extraordinary interrup- 
tions he met with, Mr. Disraeli intimated his willingness to 
resume his seat, if the House wished him to do so. He pro- 
ceeded, however, for a short time longer, but was still assailed 



724 Readings in English History 

with groans and undergrowls in all their varieties ; the uproar, 
indeed, often became so great as completely to drown his voice. 
At last, losing all temper, which until now he had preserved 
in a wonderful manner, he paused in the midst of a sentence, 
and, looking the Liberals in the face, raised his hands, and 
opening his mouth as wide as its dimensions would permit, 
said in remarkably loud and almost terrific tones, " Though I 
sit down now, the time will come when you will hear me." 
Mr. Disraeli then sat dowoi amidst the loudest uproar. 

His person- The exhibition altogether was a most extraordinary one. 

ahty ]yfj._ Disraeli's appearance and manner were very singular. His 

dress also was peculiar ; it had much of a theatrical aspect. 
His black hair was long and flowing, and he had a most ample 
crop of it. His gesture was abundant ; he often appeared as 
if trying with what celerity he could move his body from one 
side to another and throw his hands out and draw them in 
again. At 'other times he flourished one hand before his face 
and then the other. His voice, too, is of a very unusual kind : 
it is powerful and had every justice done to it in the way of 
exercise ; but there is something peculiar in it which I am at 
a loss to characterize. His utterance was rapid and he never 
seemed at a loss for words. On the whole, and notwithstand- 
ing the result of his first attempt, I am convinced he is a man 
who possesses many of the requisites of a good debater. That 
he is a man of great literary talent, few will dispute. . . . 

Mr. Glad- Mr. Gladstone, the member for Newark, is one of the most 

stone's Tory j-jsing young men on the Tory side of the House. His party 
expect great things from him ; and certainly, when it is remem- 
bered that his age is only twenty-five, the success of the parlia- 
mentary efforts he has already made justifies their expectations. 
He is well informed on most of the subjects which usually 
occupy the attention of the legislature, and he is happy in 
turning his information to a good account. He is ready, on 
all occasions which he deems fitting ones, with a speech in 
favor of the policy advocated by the party with whom he acts. 
His extemporaneous resources are ample. Few men in the 
House can improvisate better. It does not appear to cost him 
an effort to speak. He is a man of very considerable talent 



The Grozvth of Democracy 725 

but has nothing approaching to genius. His abilities are much 
more the result of an excellent education and of mature study 
than of any prodigality on the part of nature in the distribu- 
tion of mental gifts. 

I have no idea that he will ever acquire the reputation of a 
great statesman. His views are not sufficiently profound or 
enlarged for that ; his celebrity in the House of Commons will 
chiefly depend on his readiness and dexterity as a debater, in 
conjunction with the excellence of his elocution and the grace- 
fulness of his manner when speaking. His style is polished, 
but has no appearance of the effect of previous preparation. 
He displays considerable acuteness in replying to an oppo- 
nent ; he is quick in his perception of anything vulnerable 
in the speech to which he replies, and happy in laying the 
weak point bare to the gaze of the House. He now and then 
indulges in sarcasm, which is, in most cases, very felicitous. 
He is plausible even when most in error. When it suits him- 
self or his party, he can apply himself with the strictest close- 
ness to the real point at issue ; when to evade that point is 
deemed politic, no man can wander from it more widely. 

The ablest speech he ever made in the House, and by far 
the ablest on the same side of the question, was when oppos- 
ing, on the 30th of March last. Sir George Strickland's motion 
for the abolition of the negro apprenticeship system on the ist 
of August next. Mr. Gladstone, I should here observe, is him- 
self an extensive West India planter. 

Mr. Gladstone's appearance and manners are much in his 
favor. He is a fine-looking man. He is about the usual height 
and of good figure. His countenance is mild and pleasant and 
has a highly intellectual expression. His eyes are clear and 
quick. His eyebrows are dark and rather prominent. There 
is not a dandy in the House but envies what Truefitt would 
call his "fine head of jet-black hair." It is always carefully 
parted from the crown downwards to his brow, where it is taste- 
fully shaded. His features are small and regular ; and his 
complexion must be a very unworthy witness if he does not 
possess an abundant stock of health. 



726 



Readings in English History 



A clearer impression of the leading statesmen in the 
House of Commons, sixteen years later, about the time 
of the Crimean War, may be obtained from a book of 
observations in England, written in 1854 by William 
Wells Brown. The author was himself a man of some 
interest. He was an American negro, who had escaped 
from slavery in the South and been educated by a North- 
ern man. He later traveled, was well received abroad, 
and wrote an interesting account of his journey. 

Yonder, on the right of us, sits Richard Cobden. Look at 
his thin, pale face, and spare-made frame. He started as a 
commercial traveler; was afterwards a calico printer and 
merchant in Manchester. He was the expounder, in the 
Manchester Chamber of Commerce and in the town council, 
of the lirinciples of free trade. In the council of the Anti- 
Corn Law League he was the leader, and principal agitator of 
the question in public meetings throughout the kingdom. He 
was first elected for Stockport. When vSir Robert Peel's ad- 
ministration abolished the corn laws, the prime minister avowed 
in the House of Commons that the great measure was in most 
part achieved by the unadorned eloquence of Richard Cobden. 
He is the representative of the nonintervention or political 
peace party, holding the right and duty of national defense, 
but opposing all alliances which are calculated to embroil the 
country in the affairs of other nations. His age is about fifty. 
He represents the largest constituency in the kingdom — the 
western division of Yorkshire, which contains thirty-seven 
thousand voters. Mr. Cobden has a reflective cast of mind ; 
and is severely logical in his style, and very lucid in the treat- 
ment of his subjects. He may be termed the leader of the 
Radical party in the House. 

Three seats from Cobden you see that short, stout person, 
with his high head, large, round face, good-sized eyes. It is 
Macaulay, the poet, critic, historian, and statesman. If you 
have not read his essay on Milton, you should do so immedi- 
ately ; it is the finest thing of the kind in the language. . . . 



The GrozvtJi of Democracy 727 

Over on the same side with the Liberals sits John Bright, the Bright 
Quaker statesman, and leader of the Manchester school. He 
is the son of a Rochdale manufacturer, and first distinguished 
himself as an agitator in favor of the repeal of the corn laws. 
He represents the city of Manchester, and has risen rapidly. 
Mr. Cobden and he invariably act together, and will, doubtless, 
sooner or later, come into power together. Look at his robust 
and powerful frame, round and pleasing face. He is but little 
more than forty ; an earnest and eloquent speaker, and com- 
mands the fixed attention of his audience. 

See that exceedingly good-looking man just taking his seat. Gladstone 
It is William Ewart Gladstone. He is the son of a Liverpool 
merchant and represents the University of Oxford. He came 
into parliament in 1832 under the auspices of the Tory duke 
of Newcastle. He was a disciple of the first Sir R. Peel, and 
was by that statesman introduced into official life. He has 
been vice president and president of the board of trade, and 
is now chancellor of the exchequer. Mr. Gladstone is only 
forty-four. When not engaged in speaking he is of rather 
unprepossessing appearance. His forehead appears low, but 
his eye is bright and penetrating. He is one of the ablest 
debaters in the House, and is master of a style of eloquence 
in which he is quite unapproached. As a reasoner he is subtle, 
and occasionally Jesuitical ; but, with a good cause and a con- 
viction of the right, he rises to a lofty pitch of oratory, and 
may be termed the Wendell Phillips of the House of Commons. 

There sits Disraeli, among the Tories. Look at that Jewish Disraeli 
face, those dark ringlets hanging round that mar-ble brow. 
When on his feet he has a catlike, stealthy step ; always looks 
on the ground when walking. He is the son of the well-known 
author of the Curiosities of Literature. His ancestors were 
Venetian Jews. He was himself born a Jew, and was initiated 
into the Hebrew faith. Subsequently he embraced Christianity. 
His literary works are numerous, consisting entirely of novels, 
with the exception of a biography of the late Lord George 
Bentinck, the leader of the Protectionist party, to whose post 
Mr. Disraeli succeeded on the death of his friend and political 
chief. Mr. Disraeli has been all round the compass in politics. 



728 



Readings in EnglisJi History 



Lord Palmer- 
ston 



Lord John 
Russell 



He is now professedly a Conservative, but is believed to be 
willing to support any measures, however sweeping and demo- 
cratical, if by so doing he could gratify his ambition — which 
is for office and power. He was the great thorn in the side 
of the last Sir R. Peel, and was never so much at home as 
when he could find a flaw in that distinguished statesman's 
political acts. He is an able debater and a finished orator, 
and in his speeches wrings applause even from his political 
opponents. 

Cast your eyes to the opposite side of the House, and take 
a good view of that venerable man, full of years, just rising 
from his seat. See how erect he stands ; he is above seventy 
years of age, and yet he does not seem to be forty. That is 
Lord Palmerston. Next to Joseph Hume, he is the oldest 
member in the House. He has been longer in office than any 
other Jiving man. All parties have, by turns, claimed him, and 
he has belonged to all kinds of administration, — Tory, Conserv- 
ative, Whig, and Coalition. He is a ready debater, and he 
is a general favorite as a speaker, for his wit and adroitness, 
but little trusted by any party as a statesman. His talents have 
secured him office, and he is useful as a minister and danger- 
ous as an opponent. . . . 

Ah ! we shall now have a speech. See that little man rising 
from his seat; look at his thin black hair, how it seems to 
stand up ; hear that weak but distinct voice. Oh, how he 
repeats the ends of his sentences ! It is Lord John Russell, 
the leader of the present administration. He is now asking 
for three million pounds sterling to carry on the war. He is 
a terse and perspicuous speaker, but avoids prolixity. He is 
much respected on both sides of the House. Though favorable 
to reform measures generally, he is nevertheless an upholder 
of aristocracy, and stands at the head and firmly by his order. 
He is brother to the present duke of Bedford, and has twice 
been premier ; and, though on the sunny side of sixty, he has 
been in office, at different times, more than thirty years. He 
is a constitutional Whig and conservative reformer. See how 
earnestly he speaks, and keeps his eyes on Disraeli ! He is 
afraid of the Jew ! Now he scratches the bald place on his 



The Groiii/i of Democracy 729 

head, and then opens that huge roll of paper and looks over 
towards Lord Palmerston. , . . 

All eyes are turned towards the seat of the chancellor of the Gladstone 
exchequer : a pause of a moment's duration, and the orator of ^^am 
the House rises to his feet. Those who have been reading the 
Times lay it down ; all whispering stops, and the attention of 
the members is directed to Gladstone as he begins. Disraeli 
rests his chin upon his hat, which lies upon his knee : he too 
is chained to his seat by the fascinating eloquence of the man 
of letters. Thunders of applause follow, in which all join but 
the Jew. Disraeli changes his position on his seat, first one leg 
crossed and then the other, but he never smiles while his op- 
ponent is speaking. He sits like one of those marble figures 
in the British Museum. Disraeli has furnished more fun for 
Punch than any other man in the empire. When it was resolved 
to have a portrait of the late Sir R. Peel painted for the gov- 
ernment, Mr. Gladstone ordered it to be taken from one that 
appeared in Punch during the lifetime of that great statesman. 
This was indeed a compliment to that sheet of fun. But now 
look at the chancellor of the exchequer. He is in the midst of 
his masterly speech, and silence reigns throughout the House. 

His words of learned length and thundering sound 
Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around ; 
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew 
That one small head could carry all he knew. 



n. England and the Civil War in America 

The following speech by John Bright, delivered at a 
public dinner at Rochdale, in the midst of the cotton- 
manufacturing country, was of great influence in keep- 
ing some degree of friendship between England and 
America during the early period of the Civil War. 

In these times in which we live, by the influence of the tele- 439. Speechof 

graph and the steamboat and the railroad, and the multiplica- J"*^" Bright 
. r • 11 1 1 (December 4, 

tion of newspapers, we seem continually to stand as on the top iggj) 



730 



Readings in English His tor jf 



The Crimean 
War 



The Sepoy 
rebellion 



The Franco- 
Italian War 



The Civil War 
in America 



Acknowledged 
hostility to 
the North 



of an exceeding high mountain, from which we behold all the 
kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them — unhappily, 
also, not only their glory, but their follies and their crimes and 
their calamities. 

Seven years ago our eyes were turned with anxious expecta- 
tion to a remote corner of Europe, where five nations were 
contending in bloody strife for an object which possibly hardly 
one of them comprehended, and, if they did comprehend it, 
which all sensible men amongst them must have known to be 
absolutely impracticable. Four years ago we were looking 
still further to the east, where there was a gigantic revolt in a 
great dependency of the British crown, arising mainly from 
gross neglect, and from the incapacity of England, up to that 
moment, to govern the country which it had known how to 
conquer. Two years ago we looked south, to the plains of 
Lombardy, and saw a great strife there, in which every man 
of England took a strong interest ; and we have welcomed, as 
the results of that strife, the addition of a great kingdom to 
the list of European states. Now our eyes are turned in a 
contrary direction and we look to the west. There we see 
a struggle in progress of the very highest interest to England 
and to humanity at large. We see there a nation which I shall 
call the transatlantic English nation — the inheritor and par- 
taker of all the historic glories of this country. We see it torn 
with intestine broils and suffering from calamities from which 
for more than a century past, in fact, for more than two cen- 
turies past, this country has been exempt. That struggle is of 
especial interest to us. We remember the description which 
one of our great poets gives of Rome, " Lone mother of dead 
empires." 

But England is the living mother of great nations on the 
American and on the Australian continents, which promise to 
endow the world with all her knowledge and all her civiliza- 
tion, and with even something more than the freedom she 
herself enjoys. . . . 

Now I am obliged to say, and I say it with the utmost 
pain, that if we have not done things which are plainly hos- 
tile to the North, and if we have not expressed affection for 



The GrotvtJi of Democracy 73^^ 

slavery and, outwardly and openly, hatred for the Union, — I 
say that there has not been that friendly and cordial neutrality 
which, if I had been a citizen of the United States, I should 
have expected; and I say further, that, if there has existed 
considerable irritation at that, it must be taken as a measure 
of the high appreciation which the people of those states place 
upon the opinion of the people of England. If I had been 
addressing this audience ten days ago, so far as I know, I 
should have said just what I have said now ; and although, by 
an untoward event, circumstances are somewhat, even consid- 
erably, altered, yet I have thought it desirable to make this 
statement, with a view, so far as I am able to do it, to improve 
the opinion of England and to assuage feelings of irritation in 
America, if there be any, so that no further difficulties may 
arise in the progress of this unhappy strife. 

But there has occurred an event which was announced to Seizure of 
us only a week ago, which is one of great importance, and it Messrs. Mason 

1 r -IT- 11,- n 1 ^"d Shdell 

piay be one of some peril. It is asserted that what is called 
"international law" has been broken by the seizure of the 
Southern commissioners on board an English trading steamer 
by a steamer of war of the United States. Now what is inter- 
national law? You have heard that the opinions of the law 
officers of the crown are in favor of this view of the case — 
that the law has been broken. I am not at all going to say that 
it has not. It would be imprudent in me to set my opinion on 
a legal question which I have only partially examined, against 
their opinion on the same question, which I presume they have 
carefully examined. But this I say, that international law is 
not to be found in an act of parliament ; it is not in so many 
clauses. You know that it is difficult to find the law. I can 
ask the mayor, or any magistrate around me, whether it is not 
very difficult to find the law, even when you have found the 
act of parliament and found the clause. But when you have 
found no act of parliament, and no clause, you may imagine 
that the case is still more difficult. 

Now maritime law, or international law, consists of opinions The uncer- 
and precedents for the most part, and it is very unsettled, tamty of inter- 

... r ^■t•(■ • national law 

The opinions are the opinions of men of different countries, 



732 Readings in EnglisJi History 

given at different times ; and the precedents are not always 
like each other. The law is very unsettled, and, for the most 
part, I believe it to be exceedingly bad. In past times, as you 
know from the histories you read, this country has been a fight- 
ing country ; we have been belligerents, we have carried mari- 
time law by our owm powerful hand to a pitch that has been 
very oppressive to foreign and especially to neutral nations. 
Well, now, for the first time, unhappily, almost for the first 
time in our history for the last two hundred years, we are not 
belligerents but neutrals ; and we are disposed to take, per- 
haps, rather a different view of maritime and international law. 

Now the act which has been committed by the American 
steamer, in my opinion, whether it was legal or not, was both 
impolitic and bad. That is my opinion. I think it may turn 
out, almost certainly, that, so far as the taking of those men 
from that ship was concerned, it was an act wholly unknown 
to, and unauthorized by, the American government. And if the 
American government believe, on the opinion of their law offi- 
cers, that the act is i'legal, I have no doubt they will make 
fitting reparation ; for there is no government in the world that 
has so strenuously insisted upon modifications of international 
law, and been so anxious to be guided always by the most 
moderate and merciful interpretation of that law. 

Now our great advisers of the Times newspaper have been 
persuading people that this is merely one of a series of acts 
which denote the determination of the Washington government 
to pick a quarrel with the people of England. Did you ever 
know anybody who was not very nearly dead drunk, who, 
having as much upon his hands as he could manage, would 
offer to fight everybody about him? Do you believe that the 
United States government, presided over by President Lincoln, 
so constitutional in all his acts, so moderate as he has been — 
representing at this moment that great party in the United 
States, happily now in the ascendency, which has always been 
especially in favour of peace, and especially friendly to England 
— do you believe that such a government, having now upon 
its hands an insurrection of the most formidable character in 
the South, would invite the armies and the fleets of England to 



TJie Grozvth of Democracy 733 

combine with that insurrection, and, it might be, to render it 
impossible that the Union should ever again be restored ? I say, 
that single statement, whether it came from a public writer or 
a public speaker, is enough to stamp him forever with the 
character of being an insidious enemy of both countries. . . . 

Remembering the past, remembering at this moment the 
perils of a friendly people, and seeing the difficulties by which 
they are surrounded, let us, I entreat of you, see if there be 
any real moderation in the people of England, and if magna- 
nimity, so often to be found amongst individuals, is absolutely 
wanting in a great nation. .. . . 

Now, whether the Union will be restored or not, or the 
South achieve an unhonoured independence or not, I know 
not and I predict not. But this I think I know, that in a few 
years, a very few years, the twenty millions of freemen in the 
North will be thirty millions, or even fifty millions — a popu- 
lation equal to or exceeding that of this kingdom. When that 
time comes I pray that it may not be said amongst them that 
in the darkest hour of their country's trials England, the land 
of their fathers, looked on with icy coldness and saw unmoved 
the perils and calamities of their children. As for me, I have 
but this to say : I am but one in this audience, and but one 
in the citizenship of this country ; but if all other tongues are 
silent, mine shall speak for that policy which gives hope to the 
bondmen of the South, and which tends to generous thoughts 
and generous deeds between the two great nations who speak 
the English language, and from their origin are alike entitled 
to the English name. 

Only a minority of the governing classes of England 
agreed with John Bright in his views of the American 
struggle. But as time went on their numbers increased, 
and admiration for the character of Lincoln, at least, 
became quite general. This feeling is well reflected in 
the following anonymous poem from the English humor- 
ous journal Punchy when the news of his assassination 
was received. 



734 Readmgs in Eiiglisli History 

440. Arecan- You lay a wreath on murdered Lincoln's bier, 

tation, You, who with mocking pencil wont to trace, 

Punch (May ^^ ,' , ,. , T^ • • , 

6^ 1865) Broad for the self-complacent British sneer, 

His length of shambling limb, his furrowed face, 

His gaunt, gnarled hands,- his unkempt, bristling hair, 
His garb uncouth, his bearing ill at ease. 

His lack of all we prize as debonair. 

Of power or will to shine, of art to please. 

You whose smart pen backed up the pencil's laugh. 
Judging each step, as though the way were plain : 

Reckless, so it could point its paragraph, 
Of chief's perplexity or people's pain. 

Beside this corpse, that bears for winding sheet 
The Stars and Stripes he lived to rear anew, 

Between the mourners at his head and feet, 
Say, scurril jester, is there room iox you ? 

Yes, he had lived to shame me from my sneer, 
To lame my pencil and confute my pen — 

To make me own this hind of princes peer. 
This rail splitter a true-born king of men. 

My shallow judgment I had learnt to rue, 
Noting how to occasion's height he rose. 

How his quaint wit made home truth seem more true, 
How, iron like, his temper grew by blows. 

How humble yet how hopeful he could be : 
How in good fortune and in ill the same : 

Nor bitter in success, nor boastful he, 
Thirsty for gold, nor feverish for fame. 

He went about his work — such work as few 
Ever had laid on head and heart and hand — 

As one who knows, where there 's a task to do, 

Man's honest will must heaven's good grace command. 



The Grozvth of Democracy 735 

The uncleared forest, the unbroken soil, 

The iron-bark that turns the lumberer's axe, 
The rapid that o'erbears the boatman's toil, 

The prairie, hiding the mazed wanderer's tracks, 

The ambushed Indian, and the prowling bear — 

Such were the needs that helped his youth to train : 

Rough culture — but such trees large fruit may bear 
If but their stocks be of right girth and grain. 

So he grew up, a destined work to do, 

And lived to do it : four long-suffering years ! 
Ill fate, ill feeling, ill report lived through. 

And then he heard the hisses change to cheers, 

The taunts to tribute, the abuse to praise. 

And took both with the same unwavering mood : 

Till, as he came on light, from darkling days. 

And seemed to touch the goal from where he stood, 

A felon hand, between the goal and him. 

Reached from behind his back, a trigger prest — 

And those perplexed and patient eyes were dim. 

Those gaunt, long-labouring- limbs were laid to rest ! 

III. The Completion of Parliamentary Reform 

Some idea of the differences of opinion on political 
questions that existed just before the adoption of the 
Reform Bill of 1867 can be gathered from the debate 
that took place on an earlier and unsuccessful bill intro- 
duced by Mr. Gladstone in 1866. The closing speech 
is one of the best examples of the fervid eloquence with 
which Mr. Gladstone discussed practical problems. 

Lord Cranborne entreated the chancellor of the exchequer 441. A debate 

to let the House know who their new masters were to be. In *° *^® House 
, . . . , .... of Commons 

proposmg so great an alteration, it was right to ask for mfor- onapro- 

mation as to the extent of the change that was to take place, posed Reform 

the number of new voters to be introduced, the class of the *° ^ 



736 Readings m English Histoiy 

community to which they belonged, and how far they repre- 
sented the wealth and numbers of the country. . . . 
Mr. Hughes, Mr. Hughes supported the bill as an honest attempt to 
a Radical extend the franchise, — the most important part of reform, — 
and because (according to the opinion of an influential man 
among them) it would admit a large body of the best of the 
working classes. He defended trades unions and their leaders 
from imputations which had been made against them, de- 
scribed the great results which had been achieved by co- 
operative societies, and argued that if the working classes 
had been more effectually represented in the House, it would 
have been able to deal more effectually with such questions 
as the relations between workmen and employers, the im- 
provement of dwellings, the restriction of noxious trades, and 
the like. He derided the notion that the working classes were 
not as much divided on political matters as any other class, 
and urged the national importance of riveting their adherence 
to the constitution by this concession. . . . 
Mr. Lowe, a Mr. Lowe pointed out the danger arising from the power 
Conservative p£ ^j^g working classes to combine for the accomplishment of 
their objects, and the ease with which trades unions might be 
converted into political organizations. Trades unions were 
far more unions against the best, most skillful, industrious 
men themselves than against the masters. They made war 
upon all superiority and skilled industry, and made themselves 
the slaves of clumsiness, idleness, and ignorance. And see 
what a tremendous machinery they would have if they only 
allowed them to possess the one thing they wanted — the par- 
liamentary vote. Adopt this bill, and there was no saying 
where they would stop in the downward direction of de- 
mocracy. Among the consequences which might be antici- 
pated from it were the profession of politics as a last resource 
when every other had failed, a disposition to war, opposition 
to free trade, and the concentration of power. Democratize 
the House of Commons, and it would not rest until it had 
swept away the institutions which now stood between it and 
the throne, and supplied their places by other institutions 
deriving their origin directly from the people, and not having 



The Growth of Democracy 737 

the quasi-independence which those corporations and privi- 
leged classes now enjoyed. When that was done, they would 
have face to face, with nothing to break the shock between 
them, the monarch for the time being and a great democracy ; 
and history had taught us little if we thought that those two 
powers would go on harmoniously. . . . 

The franchise would again be extended ; all command over Mr. Disraeli, 
the executive would cease : and when that was the state of *!^^ Conserva- 
things they would have a hall of selfish and obscure medioc- 
rities, incapable of anything but mischief, and that mischief 
devised and regulated by the raging demagogue of the hour. 
The question before the House was, not whether the working- 
men should be introduced to the franchise, but whether the 
working of the English constitution could be improved ; and 
he was convinced that, although it was the opinion of the 
thoughtful portion of the community that the choicest mem- 
bers of the working classes should form a part, and no unim- 
portant part, of the estate of the Commons, they recoiled from 
attaining that result by an undistinguishing reduction of the 
franchise. He did not say that the working classes had their 
full share of the franchise ; but before proceeding to invest 
them with it, the House ought to obtain accurate information, 
and, above all, they should legislate in the spirit of the English 
constitution, so that this House should remain a House of 
Commons, and not the house of the people or of an indis- 
criminate multitude. In voting for this bill they would act 
not in the spirit of the British constitution but in the spirit 
of the constitution of America. . . . 

My right honorable friend says we know nothing about the Mr. Glad- 
laboring classes. Is not one single word a sufficient reply, ^*°"®' ^^^ 
and that word is " Lancashire," associated with the sufferings 
of the last four years, so painful and bitter, but so nobly and 
gloriously borne? The qualities then exhibited were the qual- 
ities, not of select men here and there among a depraved 
multitude, but of the masses. For my own part, I cannot 
believe that the men who exhibited those qualities were only 
a sample of the people, and that the rest would not have done 
the same had occasion arisen. I cannot see what argument 



738 Readings in Ejiglish History 

could be found for some wise and temperate experiment 
of the extension of civil rights among such people, if the 
experience of the past few years does not afford it. 

Let us consider the enormous and silent changes which 
have been going forward among the laboring population. May 
I use the words to honorable and right honorable gentlemen 
once used by way of exhortation by Sir Robert Peel, " Elevate 
your vision "? Let us try and raise our views above the fears, 
suspicions, jealousies, attacks, and recriminations of this place. 
Let us look onward to the time of our children and our chil- 
dren's children. Let us think what preparation should be 
made for them. Is there or is there not a steady move- 
ment of the laboring classes, and is or is not that movement 
onwards and upwards? I do not say you can see it ; for, like 
all great processes, it is unobservable in detail but solid and 
unassailable in character. It is like those movements of the 
earth's crust, which science tells us are even now going on in 
certain portions of the globe, which sailors sail over and the 
traveler by land treads upon without being conscious of them ; 
but science tells you that the changes are taking place, and 
that things are not as they were. 

Has my right honorable friend ever considered the aston- 
ishing phenomena connected with some portion of the conduct 
of the laboring classes, and especially in the Lancashire dis- 
tress? Has he considered what an amount of self-denial was 
exhibited by these men in respect to the American war? 
Could any man have believed that a conduct so still, so calm, 
so firm, so energetic, could have planted itself in the minds 
of a population without becoming a kno^^^l patent fact through 
the whole country? And yet when the day of trial came, we 
saw that noble sympathy on their part with the people of the 
North ; that determination that, be their sufferii:igs what they 
might, no word should proceed from them that would damage 
a cause so just. On one side, there was a magnificent moral 
spectacle ; on the other side, there was a great lesson to us all, 
to teach us that, in their minds, by a process of quiet instilla- 
tion, opinions and sentiments were gradually forming thena- 
selves, of which we for a long time remain unaware, but that, 



TJie Grozuth of Democracy 739 

when at last they make their appearance, are found mature, 
sohdj and irresistible. . . . 

You cannot fight against the future. Time is on our side. 
The great social forces which move on in their might and 
majesty, and which the tumult of our debates does not for a 
moment impede or disturb, — those great social forces are 
against you ; they are marshaled on our side ; and the banner 
which we now carry, though, perhaps, at some moment it may 
droop over our sinking heads, yet it soon again will float in 
the eye of heaven, and it will be borne by the firm hands of 
the united people of the three kingdoms, perhaps not to an 
easy but to a certain and to a not distant victory. 

As examples of the many measures of a reforming 
nature carried through parliament in the years immedi- 
ately following the Reform Bill of 1867, may be taken 
the bill for the abolition of religious tests at the uni- 
versities, the bill for free public education, and the bill 
for legalizing trade unions. The following extracts in- 
clude a few sections from each of these statutes. 

Previous to this time every student, fellow, and 
lecturer at the universities had been compelled to take 
certain oaths and conform to certain religious require- 
ments which none but members of the Church of Eng- 
land could conscientiously do. The universities were 
now by law thrown open to members of all creeds. 

Whereas, it is expedient that the benefits of the universities 442. Extracts 
of Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham, and of the colleges and ^l^^l^^^ 
halls now subsisting therein, as places of religion and learning, religious 
should be rendered freely accessible to the nation : tests at the 

And whereas, by means of divers restrictions, tests, and dis- ?°^q) 
abilities, many of her Majesty's subjects are debarred from 
the full enjoyment of the same : 

And whereas, it is expedient that such restrictions, tests, 
and disabilities should be removed, under proper safeguards 



740 Readings in English History 

for the maintenance of religious instruction and worship in the 
said universities and the colleges and halls now subsisting 
within the same : . . . 
No religious No person shall be required, upon taking or to enable him 
requirement ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ degree (other than a degree in divinity) within the 
universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham, or any of 
them, or upon exercising or to enable him to exercise any of 
the rights and privileges which may heretofore have been or 
may hereafter be exercised by graduates in the said universities 
or any of them, or in any college subsisting at the time of the 
passing of this act in any of the said universities, *or upon taking 
or holding, or to enable him to take or hold any office in any 
of the said universities or any such college as aforesaid, or upon 
teaching or to enable him to teach within any of the said uni- 
versities or any such college as aforesaid, or upon opening or 
to enable him to open a private hall or hostel in any of the 
said universities for the reception of students, to subscribe any 
article or formulary of faith, or to make any declaration or 
take any oath respecting his religious belief or profession, or to 
conform to any religious observance, or to attend or abstain 
from attending any form of public worship, or to belong to any 
specified church, sect, or denomination ; nor shall any person 
be compelled, in any of the said universities or any such 
college as aforesaid, to attend the public worship of any church, 
sect, or denomination to which he does not belong. 

Education in England was formerly considered prin- 
cipally a matter to be cared for by the church or by 
private individuals. Nevertheless both church and en- 
dowed schools had long received some financial aid from 
the government. Now a still further step was taken. 
Compulsory free education was introduced. The two 
great difficulties — the unwillingness of local authori- 
ties to' go to the expense of supporting the schools, and 
religious differences — were met in the way shown in 
the following clauses of the act of 1870. 



TJie Growth of Democracy 741 

There shall be provided for every school district a sufficient 443- Extracts 

amount of accommodation in public elementary schools (as "o™ the law 

^ ■' ^ establishing 

hereinafter defined) available for all the children resident in free public 

such district for whose elementary education efficient and suita- schools (1870) 

ble provision is not otherwise made ; and where there is an 

insufficient amount of such accommodation, in this act referred 

to as " public school accommodation," the deficiency shall be 

supplied in the manner provided by this act. 

Where the education department, in the manner provided 
by this act, are satisfied and have given public notice that there 
is an insufficient amount of public school accommodation for 
any school district, and the deficiency is not supplied as herein- 
after required, a school board shall be formed for such district 
and shall supply such deficiency, and in case of default by the 
school board the education department shall cause the duty of 
such board to be performed in the manner provided by this act. 

Every elementary school which is conducted in accordance 
with the following regulations shall be a public elementary 
school within the meaning of this act ; and every public ele- 
mentary school shall be conducted in accordance with the 
following regulations (a copy of which regulations shall be con- 
spicuously put up in every such school); namely, (i) it shall 
not be required, as a condition of any child being admitted in 
or continuing in the school, that he shall attend or abstain 
from attending any Sunday school or any place of religious 
worship, or that he shall attend any religious observance or any 
instruction in religious subjects in the school or elsewhere, from 
which observance or instruction he may be withdrawn by his 
parent, or that he shall, if withdrawn by his parent, attend the 
school on any day exclusively set apart for religious observance 
by the religious body to which his parent belongs ; (2) the 
time or times during which any religious observance is practiced 
or instruction in religious subjects is given at any meeting of 
the school shall be either at the beginning, or at the end, or 
at the beginning and the end of such meeting. 

A full investigation of trade unions was made by a large 
parliamentary committee during the years 1867- 1869. 



742 



Readings in Englis/i History 



444. Extracts 
from the law 
legalizing 
trade unions 
(1871) 



Officers of 
trade unions 
held to 
account 



The law adopted on its recommendation gave the trade 
unions a legal right to exist, and, if they were registered, 
certain other rights similar to those of an insurance 
company. 

The purposes of any trade union shall not, by reason merely 
that they are in restraint of trade, be deemed to be unlawful 
so as to render any member of such trade union liable to crim- 
inal prosecution for conspiracy or otherwise. 

The purposes of any trade union shall not, by reason merely 
that they are in restraint of trade, be unlawful so as to render 
void or voidable any agreement or trust. . . . 

Any seven or more members of a trade union may, by sub- 
scribing their names to the rules of the union, and otherwise 
complying with the provisions of this act with respect to regis- 
try, register such trade union under this act, provided that if 
any one of the purposes of such trade union be unlawful such 
registration shall be void. 

It shall be lawful for any trade union registered under this 
act to purchase or take upon lease in the names of the trustees 
for the time being of such union any land not exceeding one 
acre. . . . 

Every treasurer or other officer of a trade union registered 
under this act, at such times as by the rules of such trade union 
he should render such account as hereinafter mentioned, or, 
upon being required so to do, shall render to the trustees of 
the trade union, at a meeting of the trade union, a just and true 
account of all moneys received and paid by him since he last 
rendered the like account, and of the balance then remaining 
in his hands. . . . 

A general statement of the receipts, funds, effects, and ex- 
penditure of every trade union registered under this act shall 
be transmitted to the registrar before the first day of June in 
every year, and shall show fully the assets and liabilities at the 
date, and the receipts and expenditure during the year preced- 
ing the date to which it is made out, of the trade union ; and 
shall show separately the expenditure in respect of the several 
objects of the trade union. . . . 



TJie GroivtJi of Democracy y4^ 

The term " trade union " means any combination, whether Definition of 
temporary or permanent, for regulating the relations between ^ ^''^'^® union 
workmen and masters, or between workmen and workmen, or 
between masters and masters, or for imposing restrictive con- 
ditions on the conduct of any trade or business. 

The measure for legalization of trade unions, from 
which some passages have just been given, did not go 
nearly so far as many supporters of the unions wished. 
A minority report still more favorable to the unions was 
therefore made by two members of the investigating 
committee. From this the following passages are taken. 

The first impression which the results of this protracted 445. Extracts 
inquiry produce is one which it is of importance never to lose from minority 
sight of — the great extent to which unionism has been carried, ^j-^de unions 
There is no industry in the country, with some very doubtful (1869) 
exceptions, into which it has not entered, and very few parts 
of the country where it is not prevalent. . . . 

It is probable that in many trades some of the best and most 
educated men stand aloof. It has not, however, been suggested 
by any one that the union is ever composed of the inferior order 
of workmen, though it may not invariably be composed of the 
superior. In some trades, and those perhaps requiring the 
greatest skill, it seems to be admitted that the union contains 
the great bulk of the most skilled men — as the engineers, the 
iron founders, the painters, glass makers, printers, shipbuilders, 
and others. All legislation, and all discussion with a view to 
legislation, must therefore take as its basis this general fact ; 
viz., that a very great proportion of the skilled workmen of the 
country have for many years shown a strong and increasing 
disposition to unite themselves in these trade societies. The 
evidence leaves no doubt on our minds that the union as a rule 
consists of the superior class of workmen ; and we can see no 
indications whatever that it is ever regarded as injurious by 
any body of workmen deserving attention from either their 
numbers or their character. . . . 



744 Readings in English History 

Outrages Without disguising from ourselves the shocking character of 

charged to certain atrocities which have been clearly brought home to 
unionists in various parts of the country, ... it is some satis- 
faction to feel that a very great improvement in the general 
character of unionism is shown, as contrasted with the results 
of earlier inquiries. ... 

The conclusion from this seems inevitable that whatever 
tends to keep the unions in the relation in which they stood 
to the old combination law is an evil, and the more nearly they 
can be placed on the footing of other legal bodies, the less has 
the public to fear from their character. These same facts are 
also a very instructive answer to a proposal which has been 
made to render the action of national associations illegal whilst 
legalizing the local ; and, to another, which is still more unfor- 
'tunate, to legalize mere trade unions, but to deprive them of 
all character of mutual assurance. The effect of either of these 
would be to put a premium on the existence of the more ques- 
tionable form of unionism, whilst suppressing that form of it 
which is shown to be above suspicion. 
Influence of It does not appear to be borne out by the evidence that the 
trade unions disposition to Strike on the part of workmen is in itself the 

on strikes 

creation of unionists, or that this disposition increases in pro- 
portion to the strength of the union. It appears, in fact, that 
the relation of unions to strikes is rather the converse, and that 
many unions are hastily formed when the spirit of demanding 
a rise is rife ; but that the effect of the established societies is 
to diminish the frequency and certainly the disorder of strikes, 
and to guarantee a regularity of wages and hours rather than 
to engage in constant endeavors to improve them. . . . 
Strikes It is clear that it is a very general practice of unionists, 

against non- wherever their numbers are sufficiently great, to refuse work 
j^^gjj in company with nonunionists. It is, however, far from being 

universal. The evidence shows that in many trades no such 
practice exists. There can, however, be little doubt that it is 
constantly enforced whenever the union is strong enough to 
insist on it. The practice is no doubt unsocial, and is often 
carried out in a vexatious and arbitrary spirit, but it is one too 
common amongst other classes of the community to require 



The Grozvth of Democracy 745 

any special treatment. It is common to corporations, confra- 
ternities, and parties of all kinds ; and, as it would be plainly- 
unjust for the state to compel workmen to work with those to 
whom they objected, and even to punish them, directly or in- 
directly, for this refusal, it seems to us one of those things 
which must be left to gradual improvement of tone. 

We are, on the whole, convinced by the evidence that the 
union is usually felt by the great body of workmen to be work- 
ing for their benefit and with their adhesion ; and we are in- 
clined to think that the workmen who, under the influence of 
agencies without (such as the Free Labor societies), place 
themselves in antagonism to it, represent a very small and for 
the most part a wholly inferior minority. 

It results that hardly any one of the features commonly at- Relative 
tributed to unionism in general can be said to be a general harmiessness 
principle ; but only that the characters of the different unions 
vary like those of the different bodies of men of whom they 
are composed, and of the officials by whom they are influenced. 
It seems to us that in themselves the unions are simply associ- 
ations to enable the workmen to obtain the best terms for 
themselves. Whether they regard their interest from an en- 
lightened point of view, or the contrary, depends very much 
on the members and the management, and on the conditions 
of the particular trade. We can see no reason why the whole 
of these societies, under good management, might not become 
what very many of them now are, — peaceful and useful institu- 
tions. And as a general principle it appears to us impossible, 
when the right of combining to further their interests is con- 
ceded, to enact that there should be certain interests which 
they may not pursue, however lawfully and peacefully. 

With respect to all the customs or rules complained of, we 
are of opinion that no sensible public injury has been shown 
to result from them ; that they arise from a standing struggle 
between conflicting interests, with neither of which the state 
is identified ; and that they are matters on which legislation 
must maintain complete neutrality, the rather that these cus- 
toms are attacked and defended in the name of economic 
principles still far from settled or recognized. . . . 



existence of 
trade unions 



746 Readings in English History 

The interest of the community is the welfare of the various 
classes which compose it, not the multiplication of products 
at constantly cheaper prices. The notion that the public is 
a gainer whilst goods are constantly growing cheaper, even 
though this end be obtained at the expense of each class of 
the community in turn suffering in liberty, health, or comfort, 
is disposed of by being stated. Such a theory would lead to 
the conclusion that slavery was a public benefit, if it could be 
shown that slave labor in any product would conduce to in- 
creased production at a lower rate. . . . 
Real basis of It seems to US that quite sufficient ground for unionism is 
to be found in the following considerations. The capitalist 
having a reserve fund, or accumulation of labor, is neces- 
sarily in a better position to treat for terms than the individual 
laborer who has no reserve fund. The capitalist is a combi- 
nation in himself. The workmen, by combination, and by 
contributing to form a reserve fund, can place themselves on 
a footing of equality with the capitalist. The economic prin- 
ciple to which the critics of unionism the most often appeal 
is that the interest of the community is best secured by the 
individuals who compose it striving to improve their own con- 
ditions for themselves. It is beyond doubt that a great num- 
ber of capitalists honestly hold and carry out this doctrine. 
Without attributing any harshness or injustice to capitalists 
individually, or as a class, it is plain that the efforts of each 
of them to improve his own condition must lead him to many 
things which are prejudicial to the immediate interest of 
others. For instance, he introduces a new process or machine 
by which he saves immensely in labor, and at once dispenses 
with a body of workmen. By his own principles he considers that 
they are the proper persons to take care of their own interests, 
and not he. They proceed to do so, and their answer is union- 
ism ; that is, they combine and seek their ends in common. 

They find that their interest lies in making their demands 
and refusing offers in concert, and not individually. Under a 
system which professes the right or rather the duty of all men 
peacefully to pursue their own interests for themselves, union- 
ism appears to us the exact correlative of competition. The 



The Grozvtk of Democracy y^y 

stronger prefer to pursue their ends by means of competition, 
the weaker by means of combination. But for the capitahst 
to deny the workman unbmited freedom to combine is for 
the stronger to object to the weaker pursuing his interests by 
the most obvious resource in his reach. 

The plan of a third reform bill had scarcely been 
formulated, in 1884, when the House of Lords inti- 
mated that this measure would be defeated by them. The 
conflict immediately took the form of an attack on the 
House of Lords. The following letter from John Bright, 
the old Radical statesman, puts the matter clearly. 

Dear Sir : 446. John 

I am glad to hear of the arrangements for your great meet- Bright to J. 
A • . J .u A- A- . ■ . -11 P- Hartley 

mg to-morrow. Accrmgton and the surroundmg district will ,t^^ jg -^ 

not fail in its duty at this crisis. The question is not one of 1884) 
the franchise bill only ; that bill will not be defeated or long 
delayed. There has arisen another and a greater question. 
Shall the House of Lords subject to its will the ministry, 
which represents the crown, and the House of Commons, 
which represents the nation? Shall the policy of a great 
and free country be thwarted by men sitting in their heredi- 
tary chamber, who are there by no right of votes given them, 
and through whom the voice of the millions of the United 
Kingdom is not heard? Their veto is a constant insult to 
the House of Commons, and if the freedom of our people is 
not a pretense and a sham, some limit must be placed upon 
a power which is chiefly manifested in or by its hostility to the 
true interests of the nation. A parliament controlled by hered- 
itary peers is no better, perhaps it is worse, than a parliament 
influenced by and controlled by a despotic monarch. Ask your 
friends to consider this question seriously. Let them join 
with their countrymen in demanding a change which shall 
free the House of Commons from fetters as humiliating to it 
as they are injurious to the country. 

Believe me, sincerely yours, 

John Bright. 



748 Readings in English History 

IV. Irish Home Rule 

The bill for home rule for Ireland, in 1886, was a 
far-reaching political measure that proved too difficult 
even for the influence of Mr. Gladstone. Nevertheless 
the Irish question has always since remained prominent, 
and home rule has been constantly advocated. This 
account, including Mr. Gladstone's speech, is from 
Morley's Life of Gladstotie. 

447. The plan The foundation of the scheme was the establishment in 
of Irish home jj-gland of a domestic legislature to deal with Irish as dis- 
tinguished from imperial affairs. It followed from this that 
if Irish members and representative peers remained at West- 
minster at all, though they might claim a share in the settle- 
ment of imperial affairs, they could not rightly control English 
or Scotch affairs. This was from the first, and has ever since 
remained, the Gordian knot. The cabinet, on a review of 
all the courses open, determined to propose the plan of total 
exclusion, save and unless for the purpose of revising this 
organic statute. 

The next question was neither so hard nor so vital. Ought 
the powers of the Irish legislature to be specifically enumerated ? 
Or was it better to enumerate the branches of legislation from 
which the statutory parliament was to be shut out? Should we 
enact the things that they might do, or the things thai they 
might not do, leaving them the whole residue of lawmaking 
power outside these exceptions and exclusions ? The latter 
was the plan adopted in the bill. Disabilities were specified, 
and everything not so specified was left within the scope 
of the Irish authority. These disabilities comprehended all 
matters affecting the crown. All questions of defense and 
armed force were shut out ; all foreign and colonial relations ; 
the law of trade and navigation, of coinage and legal tender. 
The new legislature could not meddle with certain charters, 
nor with certain contracts, nor could it establish or endow 
any particular religion. . . . 



The Grozvth of Deinocracy 749 

The legislative body was to be composed of two orders. 
The first order was to consist of the twenty-eight representative 
peers, together with seventy-five members elected by certain 
scheduled constituencies on an occupation franchise of twenty- 
five pounds and upwards. To be eligible for the first order, 
a person must have a property qualification, either in realty 
of two hundred pounds a year, or in personalty of the same 
amount, or a capital value of four thousand pounds. The 
representative peers now existing would sit for life, and, as 
they dropped off, the crown would nominate persons to take 
their place up to a certain date, and on the exhaustion of the 
twenty-eight existing peers, then the whole of the first order 
would become elective under the same conditions as the 
seventy-five other members. 

The second order would consist of 206 members, chosen by 
existing counties and towns under the machinery now operative. 
The two orders were to sit and deliberate together, but either 
order could demand a separate vote. This right would enable 
a majority of one order to veto the proposal of the other. But 
the veto was only to operate until a dissolution, or for three 
years, whichever might be the longer interval of the two. 

The executive transition was to be gradual. The ofiice of 
viceroy would remain, but he would not be the minister of a 
party nor quit office with an outgoing government. He would 
have a privy council ; within that council w^ould be formed 
an executive body of ministers like the British cabinet. This 
executive would be responsible to the Irish legislature, just 
as the executive government here is responsible to the legis- 
lature of this country. . . . 

No such scene has ever been beheld in the House of introduction 
Commons. Members came at break of day to secure their °^ the home- 
places ; before noon every seat was marked, and crowded 
benches were even arrayed on the floor of the House from 
the mace to the bar. Princes, ambassadors, great peers, high 
prelates, thronged the lobbies. The fame of the orator, the 
boldness of his exploit, curiosity as to the plan, poignant 
anxiety as to the party result, wonder whether a wnzard had 
at last actually arisen with a spell for casting out the baleful 



7 so Readings in EnglisJi History 

spirits that had for so many ages made Ireland our torment 
and our dishonor, — all these things brought together such an 
assemblage as no minister before had ever addressed within 
those world-renowned walls. The parliament was new. Many 
of its members had fought a hard battle for their seats, and 
trusted they were safe in the haven for half a dozen good 
years to come. Those who were moved by professional ambi- 
tion, those whose object was social advancement, those who 
thought only of upright public service, the keen party men, 
the men who aspired to office, the men with a past and the 
men who looked for a future, all alike found themselves adrift 
on dark and troubled waters. The secrets of the bill had been 
well kept. To-day the disquieted host were first to learn what 
was the great project to which they would have to say that 
Aye or No on which for them and for the state so much 
would hang. . . . 

Mr. Glad- " Ireland stands at your bar expectant, hopeful, almost 

stone's closing suppliant. Her words are the words of truth and soberness. 

speech on the ,,, , , , i i ,■ • r , i • , i i- • 

bill She asks a blessed oblivion of the past, and in that oblivion 

our interest is deeper even than hers. You have been asked 
to-night to abide by the traditions of which we are the heirs. 
What traditions? By the Irish traditions? Go into the length 
and breadth of the world, ransack the literature of all coun- 
tries, find if you can a single voice, a single book, in which 
the conduct of England toward Ireland is anywhere treated 
except with profound and bitter condemnation. Are these 
the traditions by which we are exhorted to stand? No, they 
are a sad exception to the glory of our country. They are a 
broad and black blot upon the pages of its history, and what 
we want to do is to stand by the traditions of which we are 
the heirs in all matters except our relations with Ireland, and 
to make our relation to Ireland conform to the other traditions 
of our country. So we treat our traditions, so we hail the 
demand of Ireland for what I call a blessed oblivion of the 
past. She seeks also a boon for the future ; and that boon for 
the future, unless we are much mistaken, will be a boon to us 
in respect of honor, no less than a boon to her in respect of 



The Growth of Democracy 751 

happiness, prosperity, and peace. Such, sir, is her prayer. 
Think, I beseech you ; think well, think wisely ; think, not for 
the moment, but for the years that are to come, before you 
reject this bill." 

The poet laureate, William Watson, gave voice to 
the deep desire for a true reconciliation between the 
peoples of England and Ireland in the following poem, 
written two years after the failure of the home rule bill 
of 1886. 



Spouse whom my sword in the olden time won me, 448. England 

Winning me hatred more sharp than a sword ; *° Ireland 

^K ^ r , u 1 ■ , (February, 

Mother of children to hiss at or shun me, 1888) 

Curse or revile me, and hold me abhorred ; 
Heiress of anger that nothing assuages. 

Mad for the future, and mad for the past; 
Daughter of all the implacable ages, 

Lo, let us turn and be lovers at last ! 

Lovers whom tragical sin hath made equal. 

One in transgression and one in remorse. 
Bonds may be severed, but what were the sequel? 

Hardly shall amity come of divorce. 
Let the dead past have a royal entombing, 

O'er it the future built white for a fane ! 
I that am haughty from much overcoming 

Sue to thee, supplicate, — nay, is it vain? 

Hate and mistrust are the children of blindness. 

Could we but see one another, 't were well ! 
Knowledge is sympathy, charity, kindness. 

Ignorance only is maker of hell. 
Could we but gaze for an hour, for a minute, 

Deep in each other's unfaltering eyes. 
Love were begun, for that look would begin it, 

Born in the flash of a mighty surprise. 



752 Readings in Etiglish History 

Then should the ominous night-bird of error, 

Scared by a sudden irruption of day, 
Flap his maleficent wings, and, in terror, 

Flit to the wilderness, dropping his prey. 
Then should we, growing in strength and in sweetness. 

Fusing to one indivisible soul. 
Dazzle the world with a splendid completeness, 

Mightily single, immovably whole. 

Thou, like a flame when the stormy winds fan it, 

I, like a rock to the elements bare ; 
Mixed by love's magic, the fire and the granite, 

Who should compete with us, what should compare? 
Strong with a strength that no fate might dissever. 

One with a oneness no force could divide, 
So were we married and mingled forever. 

Lover with lover, and bridegroom with bride. 

V. The British Empire 

To illustrate the change of feeling that has taken 
place in regard to the proper relation between Great 
Britain and her distant colonies, it is necessary to go 
back to a much earlier period than has now been 
reached. The first selection that follows is a short 
passage from a work published in 1790. It illustrates 
the feeling of opposition in England to colonization, — 
an opposition which had become widespread soon after 
the loss of the American colonies, and which continued 
for many years. 

The rage for colonization has not yet been driven from the 
councils of this country. We have fortunately lost New Eng- 
land, but a New Wales has since started up ! How many millions 
it may cost may be the subject of the calculations of succeed- 
ing financiers, unless by the exertions of some able statesman 
that source of future waste and extravagance is prevented. 



The Groivth of Democracy 753 

Forty years later prevailing opinion was still skeptical 
as to the desirability of obtaining or retaining colonies. 

There are only three ways that colonies can be of any ad- 450. A later 
vantage: (i) in furnishing a military force; (2) in supplying argument 
the parent state with a revenue ; (3) in affording commercial colonies 
advantages. (1830) 

(i) Instead of furnishing a military force, the colonies are 
always a great drain upon the military resources of a country, 
particularly in war, when they occupy a large portion of the 
army and fleet in their defense. In the last war, while our 
own shores were threatened with invasion from Boulogne and 
Brest, our means of defense were greatly crippled by the num- 
ber of troops and ships we were obliged to keep in the colonies. 

(2) With respect to revenue, we have declared by the act of 
the 18 Geo, III, that we will not levy any taxes or duties in 
the colonies except for their use. 

(3) As to commercial advantages, if the colonial trade were 
quite free, our commercial relations with the colonies would 
resemble the intercourse between ourselves and independent 
countries ; and therefore whatever advantages we shall derive 
from them will be embraced in two questions: (i) whether 
our commerce with them will be more beneficial than with 
independent countries ; (2) whether the capital employed in 
them will be more beneficially employed than it would be if 
employed in the United Kingdom. 

With respect to the first question, it is one easily solved. Unprofitable 
because where the employment of capital is free the net profit ™^^ "^^ 
that may be obtained by the employment of it in commerce 
with independent countries will always be as great as if it were 
employed in the colonial trade. The trade we carry on with 
the United States proves this. 

With respect to the second question, it is necessary to trace 
the operations of capital when employed in the colonies and 
when employed at home. In the West India Islands it goes to 
feed and clothe slaves ; to pay British agents, clerks, and mana- 
gers ; to employ ships and sailors ; and although the gross profit 
upon it seems very high when all the charges and risks are 



754 Readings in English History 

considered, and also the effects of competition, the net profit 
cannot be greater than it is on capital employed at home. 

When capital is employed in the United Kingdom — for 
instance, on manufactures — it pays wages to English work- 
men instead of buying clothes and food for slaves ; it employs 
agents, clerks, and managers ; it employs ships and sailors to 
import raw materials and to export the finished goods, and the 
rate of net profit on it is full as high as that on capital employed 
in the colonies. 

In settling the conditions of the last treaty of peace it 
was most unwise to retain so many of the conquered colonies. 
Trinidad, Demerara, Essequibo, and Tobago were but little 
advanced in cultivation, a large transfer of capital was neces- 
sary for their cultivation, and there was little or no local rev- 
enue belonging to them. 

At the close of the war the East India Company was anxious 
to be allowed to have the island of Ceylon, and it is not too 
late to give it up to them ; but as large sums of public money 
have been expended since the war in adding to its value, the 
company should repay a large part of them as the condition 
of becoming masters of this island. 

As the Cape of Good Hope and the Mauritius are of no 
use except for the defense of the East India Company's pos- 
sessions, the company ought to be called on to defray all the 
expense of their military protection ; and it is to be hoped 
that the opportunity which the expiration of the charter of 
the company will offer, will lead to an arrangement which will 
secure all these objects. 

When peace was made in 1814 the English government 
wished to let Austria have the Ionian Islands, but France 
would not agree to this arrangement. There can be no real 
use in keeping these islands, with Malta and Gibraltar in 
our hands. 

The settlement of Sierra Leone and the military posts on 
the west coast of Africa should be given up. The public de- 
rives no benefit from these possessions, either in a commer- 
cial or military point of view ; and with respect to the slave 
trade, the use they are of in contributing to put it down is 



The Groxvth of Democracy 75 5 

so questionable as not to justify the waste of money and of 
human life which they occasion. 

With respect to Canada (including our other possessions 
on the continent of North America), no case can be made out 
to show that we should not have every commercial advantage 
we are supposed now to have, if it were made an independent 
state. Neither our manufactures, foreign commerce, nor ship- 
ping would be injured by such a measure. On the other hand, 
what has the nation lost by Canada? Fifty or sixty millions 
have already been expended ; the annual charge on the 
British treasury is full ;!^6oo,ooo a year ; and we learn from the 
second report of the committee of finance, that a plan of 
fortifying Canada has been for two or three years in progress, 
which is to cost ^3,000,000. 

It was not merely English economists and financiers 
who felt that the bond between the mother country 
and the colonies was a burden. Many of the colonists, 
or those who sympathized with them, felt that such a 
connection was a disadvantage, so long as the home 
government interfered in the internal affairs of the colo- 
nies. The following shrewd observations in a pamphlet, 
entitled Responsible Government for the Colonies, call 
attention to the fact that no one in England really knew 
or cared anything about the colonies, except certain 
obscure clerks in the colonial office, who practically 
decided all colonial questions that came up. 

Thus, from the general indifference of parliament on colo- 451. The con-, 
nial questions, it exercises, in fact, hardly the slightest efficient centration of 
control over the administration or the making of laws for the ^jjg colonies 
colonies. In nine cases out of ten it merely registers the in the hands 
edicts of the colonial offices in Downing Street. It is there, °^*'|®/°^t^'^ 
then, that nearly the whole public opinion which influences London 
the conduct of affairs in the colonies really exists. It is there 
that the supremacy of the mother country really resides ; and 
when we speak of that supremacy, and of the responsibility of 



756 Readings in English History 

the colony to the mother country, you may, to all practical in- 
tents, consider as the mother country — the possessor of this 
supremacy, the center of this responsibility — the occupants of 
the large house that forms the end of that cul-de-sac so well 
known by the name of Downing Street. However colonists 
or others may talk of the crown, the parliament, and the 
public — of the honour of the first, the wisdom of the second, 
or the enlightened opinion of the last, — nor queen, nor lords, 
nor commons, nor the great public itself exercise any power, 
or will, or thought on the greater part of colonial matters ; 
and the appeal to the mother country is, in fact, an appeal 
to ''The Office." . . . 

That mother country which has been narrowed from the 
British Isles into the parliament, from the parliament into the 
executive government, from the executive government into 
the colonial office, is not to be sought in the apartments of 
the secretary of state or his parliamentary undersecretary. 
Where you are to look for it, it is impossible to say. In 
some back room — whether in the attic, or in what story we 
know not — you will find all the mother country which really 
exercises supremacy and really maintains connection with the 
vast and widely scattered colonies of Britain. We know not 
the name, the history, or the functions of the individual into 
the narrow limits of whose person we find the mother country 
shrunk.' . . . 

The system of intrusting absolute power (for such it is) to 
one wholly irresponsible is obviously most faulty. ... It has 
all the faults of an essentially arbitrary government in the 
hands of persons who have little personal interest in the wel- 
fare of those over whom they rule, who reside at a distance 
from them, who never have ocular experience of their con- 
dition, who are obliged to trust to second-hand and one-sided 
information, and who are exposed to the operation of all those 
sinister influences which prevail wherever publicity and free- 
dom are not established. 

In intelligence, activity, and regard for the public interests, 
the permanent functionaries of " The Office " may be superior 
to the temporary head that the vicissitudes of party politics 



The GrozvtJi of Democracy 757 

give them ; but they must necessarily be inferior to those per- 
sons in the colony in whose hands the adoption of the true 
practice of responsible government would vest the manage- 
ment of local affairs. 

A turning point in colonial policy was reached in the 
year 1838. Lord Durham was sent in that year as high 
commissioner to Upper and Lower Canada, to introduce 
order after the partial rebellion that had just occurred. 
Although his high-handed measures led to his recall the 
next year, he presented a report that was of permanent 
influence. It recommended practical self-government for 
Canada and the other colonies, a policy that was little 
by little subsequently introduced. The following pas- 
sages are taken from this report, which forms in itself 
a good-sized volume. 

On the course which your Majesty and your parliament may 452. Extracts 
adopt, with respect to the North American colonies, will de- ^"^""^ ^"^"^ 

11/- 1 ■ • 1 r . -IT 1 , ir Durham's 

pend the future destmies not only of the million and a half report on 
of your Majesty's subjects who at present inhabit those prov- Canada 
inces, but of that vast population which those ample and fer- 
tile territories are fit and destined hereafter to support. No 
portion of the American continent possesses greater natural 
resources for the maintenance of large and flourishing commu- 
nities. An almost boundless range of the richest soil still re- 
mains unsettled and may be rendered available for the purposes 
of agriculture. The wealth of inexhaustible forests of the best 
timber in America, and of extensive regions of the most valu- 
able minerals, have as yet been scarcely touched. Along the 
whole line of seacoast, around each island, and in every river 
are to be found the greatest and richest fisheries in the world. 
The best fuel and the most abundant water power are available 
for the coarser manufactures, for which an easy and certain 
market will be found. 

Trade with other continents is favored by the possession 
of a large number of safe and spacious harbors. Long, deep, 



758 Readings in English History 

and numerous rivers and vast inland seas supply the means of 
easy intercourse, and the structure of the country generally 
affords the utmost facility for every species of communication 
by land. Unbounded materials of agricultural, commercial, 
and manufacturing industry are there ; it depends upon the 
present decision of the imperial legislature to determine for 
whose benefit they are to be rendered available. The country 
which has founded and maintained these colonies at a vast ex- 
pense of blood and treasure may justly expect its compensation 
in turning their unappropriated resources to the account of its 
own redundant population ; they are the rightful patrimony of 
the English people, the ample appanage which God and nature 
have set aside in the New World for those whose lot has as- 
signed them but insufficient portions in the Old World. Under 
wise and free institutions these great advantages may yet be 
secured to your Majesty's subjects ; and a connection secured 
by the link of kindred origin and mutual benefits may continue 
to bind to the British empire the ample territories of its North 
American provinces, and the large and flourishing population 
by which they will assuredly be filled. . . . 
Canadian at- As the general opinion of the American people became 
traction to ^lore apparent during the course of the last year, the English 
States of Lower Canada were surprised to find how strong, in spite 

of the first burst of sympathy with a people supposed to be 
struggling for independence, was the real sympathy of their 
republican neighbors with the great objects of the minority. 
Without abandoning their attachment to their mother country, 
they have begun, as men in a state of uncertainty are apt to 
do, to calculate the probable consequences of a separation, if 
it should unfortunately occur, and be followed by an incorpo- 
ration with the United States. 

In spite of the shock which it would occasion their feelings, 
they undoubtedly think that they should find some compensa- 
tion in the promotion of their interests ; they believe that the 
influx of American emigration would speedily place the Eng- 
lish race in a majority ; they talk frequently and loudly of what 
has occurred in Louisiana, where, by means which they utterly 
misrepresent, the end, nevertheless, of securing an English 



The Growth of Democracy 759 

predominance over a French population has undoubtedly been 
attained ; they assert very confidently that the Americans would 
make a very speedy and decisive settlement of the pretensions 
of the French; and they believe that, after the first shock of 
an entirely new political state has been got over, they and their 
posterity would share in that amazing progress and that great 
material prosperity which every day's experience shows them 
is the lot of the people of the United States. I do not believe 
that such a feeling has yet sapped their strong allegiance to 
the British empire, but their allegiance is founded on their 
deep-rooted attachment to British as distinguished from French 
institutions ; and if they find that that authority which they 
have maintained against its recent assailants is to be exerted 
in such a manner as to subject them again to what they call a 
French dominion, I feel perfectly confident that they would 
attempt to avert the result by courting, on any terms, a union 
with an Anglo-Saxon people. . . . 

It is not by weakening, but strengthening the influence of Proposal to 
the people on its government ; by confining within much ^''°"' self-gov- 
narrower bounds than those hitherto allotted to it, and not Canada 
by extending the interference of the imperial authorities in 
the details of colonial affairs, that I believe that harmony is 
to be restored where dissension has so long prevailed, and a 
regularity and vigor hitherto unknown introduced into the ad- 
ministration of these provinces. It needs no change in the 
principles of government, no invention of a new constitutional 
theory, to supply the remedy which would, in my opinion, 
completely remove the existing political disorders. It needs 
but to follow out consistently the principles of the British con- 
stitution, and introduce into the government of these great 
colonies those wise provisions by which alone the working of 
the representative system can in any country be rendered 
harmonious and efificient. 

We are not now to consider the policy of establishing rep- 
resentative government in the North American colonies. That 
has been irrevocably done ; and the experiment of depriving 
the people of their present constitutional power is not to be 
thought of. To conduct their government harmoniously, in 



760 Readings in English History 

accordance with its established principles, is now the business 
of its rulers ; and I know not how it is possible to secure that 
harmony in any other way than by administering the govern- 
ment on those principles which have been found perfectly 
efficacious in Great Britain. I would not impair a single pre- 
rogative of the crown ; on the contrary, I believe that the in- 
terests of the people in these colonies require the protection 
of prerogatives which have not hitherto been exercised. But 
the crown must, on the other hand, submit to the necessary 
consequences of representative institutions, and if it has to 
carry on the government in unison with a representative body, 
it must consent to carry it on by means of those in whom that 
representative body has confidence. 
The practical In England this principle has been so long considered an 
working of indisputable and essential part of our constitution that it has 

parliamentary i, , n i r i ... , 

government in leally hardly ever been found necessary to mquire into the 
England means by which its observance is enforced. When a ministry 

ceases to command a majority in parliament on great questions 
of policy, its doom is immediately sealed ; and it would appear 
to us as strange to attempt, for any time, to carry on a govern- 
ment by means of ministers perpetually in a minority, as it 
would be to pass laws with a majority of votes against them. 
The ancient constitutional remedies, by impeachment and a 
stoppage of the supplies, have never, since the reign of 
William III, been brought into operation for the purpose of 
removing a ministry. They have never been called for, be- 
cause, in fact, it has been the habit of ministers rather to an- 
ticipate the occurrence of an absolutely hostile vote, and to 
retire, when supported only by a bare and uncertain majority. 
If colonial legislatures have frequently stopped the supplies, if 
they have harassed public servants by unjust or harsh impeach- 
ments, it was because the removal of an unpopular adminis- 
tration could not be effected in the colonies by those milder 
indications of a want of confidence, which have always sufficed 
to attain the end in the mother country. 

Every purpose of popular control might be combined with 
every advantage of vesting the immediate choice of advisers 
in the crown, were the colonial governor to be instructed to 



The Groivth of Devioc7-acy 761 

secure the cooperation of the assembly in his policy, by intrust- The means 
iner its administration to such men as could command a ma- '^^ which self- 

° government 

jority ; and if he were given to understand that he need count ^^^ -^^ at. 
on no aid from home in ariy difference with the assembly that tained in the 
should not directly involve the relations between the mother '^° °"'^^ 
country and the colony. This change might be effected by a 
single dispatch containing such instructions ; or, if any legal en- 
actment were requisite, it would only be one that would render 
it necessary that the official acts of the governor should be 
countersigned by some public functionary. This would induce 
responsibility for every act of the government, and, as a natural 
consequence, it would necessitate the substitution of a system 
of administration by means of competent heads of departments 
for the present rude machinery of an executive council. 

The governor, if he wished to retain advisers not possessing 
the confidence of the existing assembly, might rely on the 
effect of an appeal to the people, and, if unsuccessful, he 
might be coerced by a refusal of supplies, or his advisers 
might be terrified by the prospect of impeachment. But there 
can be no reason for apprehending that either party would 
enter on a contest when each would find its interest in the 
maintenance of harmony ; and the abuse of the powers which 
each would constitutionally possess would cease when the 
struggle for larger powers became unnecessary. Nor can I 
conceive that it would be found impossible or difficult to con- 
duct a colonial government with precisely that limitation of 
the respective powers which has been so long and so easily 
maintained in Great Britain. . , . 

I admit that the system which I propose would, in fact, 
place the internal government of the colony in the hands of 
the colonists themselves ; and that we should thus leave to 
them the execution of the laws, of which we have long in- 
trusted the making solely to them. Perfectly aware of the 
value of our colonial possessions, and strongly impressed with 
the necessity of maintaining our connection with them, I know 
not in what respect it can be desirable that we should interfere 
with their internal legislation in matters which do not affect 
their relations with the mother country. 



762 



Readings in English History 



But few The matters which so concern us are very few. The consti- 

powers should tQ^jon of the form of government, the regulation of foreign 

be retained by ,. irj-ii 1 ,1 

the mother relations, and of trade with the mother country, the other 
country British colonies, and foreign nations, and the disposal of the 

public lands are the only points on which the mother country 
requires a control. This control is now sufficiently secured by 
the authority of the imperial legislature, by the protection 
which the colony derives from us against foreign enemies, by 
the beneficial terms which our laws secure to its trade, and 
by its share of the reciprocal benefits which would be con- 
ferred by a wise system of colonization. A perfect subordina- 
tion, on the part of the colony, oir these points is secured by 
the advantages which it finds in the continuance of its connec- 
tion with the empire. It certainly is not strengthened, but 
greatly weakened, by a vexatious interference on the part of 
the home government with the enactment of laws for regulat- 
ing the internal concerns of the colony, or in the selection of 
the persons intrusted with their execution. The colonists may 
not always know what laws are best for them, or which of their 
countrymen are the fittest for conducting their affairs ; but, at 
least, they have a greater interest in coming to a right judg- 
ment on these points, and will take greater pains to do so, than 
those whose welfare is very remotely and slightly affected by 
the good or bad legislation of these portions of the empire. 



453. An ad- 
dress favor- 
ing retention 
of the colo- 
nies (1875) 



Gradually during the latter part of the nineteenth 
century English public opinion concerning the colonies 
underwent a change. Of this there are many evidences. 
The following extracts from an address by William 
E. Forster, a leading Liberal statesman, furnish an 
example. 

Ideas are the rulers of the world. First or last they realize 
themselves, and become the facts of history. If, then, it is to 
be the prevalent idea in the minds of English-speaking men at 
home and abroad, that each colony must become an independ- 
ent nation when it has become powerful enough to protect 



The Growth of Democracy 7^3 

itself, we may at once try to reconcile ourselves to the inevi- 
table ; give up the hope of continuing to girdle the world with 
our possessions ; strive to convince ourselves that this hope is 
a foolish dream, that this boasted rule is but a vain show, — 
a sacrifice of the reality of power to the pretense of prestige, — 
and concentrate all our endeavors in the attempt to propiti- 
ate the new nations and obtain from them friendly consider- 
ation, as one by one they assert their independence, or, as it 
were, take up their nationality.. 

But suppose that, in place of this idea, there comes to pre- 
vail another and a very different idea, namely this : that 
our colonies, when strong enough to be independent, will yet 
be stronger, more rich, more intelligent, able to be better, if 
still in union with ourselves ; that their inhabitants will have 
greater opportunities, a wider scope, a possibility of a higher 
career, if continuing our fellow-countrymen ; that, in order to 
fulfill all the duties of free and civilized and self-governing 
men, they need not cease to be British citizens ; that they may 
have all the advantages of a nationality without disowning their 
allegiance ; and that as they increase in strength and power, so 
also shall we. If this, I say, become the prevalent idea, then 
this will be the idea that will realize itself, and our colonial 
empire may and will last. . . . 

And this brings us to the practical question : Are there any imperial 
means by which it is possible that these future commonwealths, federation 
when no longer dependent, can be united with us and with one 
another? I may hasten at once to try to answer this question ; 
for if it can be answered, that argument will also be met which 
I have already mentioned, namely, that separation would 
stimulate the colonies to greater progress and would increase 
their self-reliance. Surely it cannot be denied that if it be 
possible to replace dependence by association, each member 
of the federation would find in the common nationality at least 
as much scope for its aspirations, as much demand for the 
patriotism and the energy and the self-reliance of its citizens, 
as it would if trying to obtain a distinct nationality for itself. 

But is this federation possible? There are men, even of those 
who desire it, who think that it is not. This opinion chiefly 



764 



Readings in EnglisJi History 



depends upon the difificulties of distance. If, however, these 
difficulties have not prevented the government of a colony 
from England, why must they prevent the association of 
self-governing communities with England? . . . 
Present need And how, if any one of you has followed me thus far in the 
is for a change ij^g ^f thought which I have taken, he will, I think, be ready 

01 ideas not of ■ . ' ' ' / 

laws with the question : If you think the future association possible, 

if you see no insuperable physical or moral bar to prevent it, 
in what way do you expect it to be formed? What kind of 
federation do you propose? My reply is : I am ready with no 
proposition. I believe any precise proposition would be pre- 
mature ; and for this reason — that as yet no change in our 
relations is necessary. As Mr. Arthur Mills states, " The pres- 
ent principle of our colonial policy is to ripen these communi- 
ties to the earliest possible maturity"; and when they have 
obtained this maturity it will be for us and for them to consider 
what, under the circumstances then existing, will be the best 
bond of union. All that is required now is to imbue them and 
ourselves with the desire that the union should last, with the 
determination that the empire shall not be broken up ; to 
replace the idea of eventual independence, which means dis- 
union, by that of association on equal terms, which means 
union. If this be done we need not fear that, at the fitting 
time, this last idea will not realize itself. . . , 

Much of the more recent imperialist feeling has taken 
the form of patriotic sentiment and has naturally ex- 
pressed itself in poetry. The following sonnet by Mr. 
Watson is an instance. 



454. To the 
Colonies, a 
sonnet by 
William 
Watson 
(April, 1885) 



Brothers beyond the Atlantic's loud expanse ; 
And you that rear the innumerable fleece 
Far southward 'mid the ocean named of peace ; 
Britons that past the Indian wave advance 
Our name and spirit and world-predominance ; 
And you our kin that reap the earth's increase 
Where crawls that long-backed mountain till it cease, 
Crowned with the headland of bright esperance : 



The GrozvtJi of Democracy 765 

Remote compatriots wheresoe'er ye dwell, 
By your prompt voices ringing clear and true 
We know that with our England all is well : 
Young is she yet, her world -task but begun ! 
By you we know her safe, and know by you 
Her veins are millions but her heart is one. 

Mr. Swinburne has an ode on the same subject. 

Far and near from the swan's nest here, the storm-birds bred 455. Eng- 
of her fair white breast, Orf ''b"" 

Sons whose home was the sea-wave's foam, have borne the Algernon 
fame of her east and west ; Charles 

North and south has the storm-wind's mouth rung praise of Swinburne 
England and England's quest. 

All our past acclaims our future : Shakespeare's voice and 

Nelson's hand, 
Milton's faith and Wordsworth's trust in this our chosen and 

chainless land. 
Bear us witness : come the world against her, England yet shall 

stand. 



No man ever spake as he that bade our England be but true, 
Keep but faith with England fast and firm, and none should 

bid her rue ; 
None may speak as he : but all may know the sign that Shake- 
speare knew. 

Change darkens and lightens around her, alternate in hope and 

in fear to be : 
Hope knows not if fear speak truth, nor fear whether hope be 

not blind as she : 
But the sun is in heaven that beholds her immortal, and girdled 

with life by the sea. 

The jubilee of the queen's accession in 1887, and still 
more the "Diamond Jubilee" of 1897, were occasions 



y66 



Readings in English History 



456. An im- 
perialist 
article in 
The 

Speaker, 
June 26, 
1897 



for much imperialist feeling. The following extract 
from a contemporary newspaper well expresses this. 

To the people of the empire these jubilee rejoicings have 
brought home a knowledge, not so much of the growth of the 
greatness of the empire since this reign began, as of the steady 
growth in our minds of the determination that we shall remain 
one and indivisible in the ages that lie before us. The old 
notions about the breaking up of imperial unity and the sub- 
stitution for it of a group of independent states are dead — 
not here in London alone, but in Melbourne, Cape Town, 
Montreal, Calcutta, and Madras. In their place has been 
formed the still grander idea of an imperial entity in which 
free communities are held together by the silken cord of love 
— love for the queen and love for each other. 

This double stream of freedom and unity is not one that 
can be easily realized ; but that it is in course of being real- 
ized now, and that with its realization the British empire will 
be placed not only on a grander but a safer pedestal than any 
empire ever stood upon before, are facts which cannot be dis- 
puted, and which none seem less inclined to dispute than the 
intelligent foreign critics whose remarks upon the national 
festival of this week have been read in this country with so 
deep an interest. There is no one among us who is likely at 
present to need to be reminded that the strongest factor in 
bringing about the realization of this splendid vision is the uni- 
versal feeling of devotion to the sovereign who, on Tuesday, 
sent her thanks and her blessing to the three hundred and 
fifty millions of men and women whom she rules and loves. 

An editorial in an American newspaper, also v/ritten 
in the year 1897, expresses the same recognition of the 
importance of the colonies to England, and at the same 
time indicates the growing sympathy and appreciation 
of the United States for the British empire. 

After a long delay imperial federation has become some- 
thing more than a phrase, almost more than troops and ships. 



TJie Grozvtk of Democracy y6y 

The colonies are, next after the queen herself, the central and 457. A con- 
vital figure of this solemnity. They bring with them pledges t^mpora^ 
from the great daughter states to the mother of them all, — The New 
pledges of affection, of fidelity, of political loyalty, of such an York Times 
imperial solidarity as has been unknown before. It is Eng- 
land's answer to the taunt of splendid isolation, a phrase which 
her prime minister uttered with pride, and her enemies have 
ever since echoed as a foreboding of disaster. England, with 
her colonies and dependencies all over the globe, stretching 
out their hands to the little island they look to as the fountain 
of life to these great states and commonwealths, is an empire 
in something more than name, in something more than military 
strength. There is between them all, to borrow the words of 
Mr. Gladstone, " a union of hearts." That, as we take it, is 
the true meaning and significance of the queen's Diamond 
Jubilee. 



INDEX 



Abingdon,abbey of, charter to, io6. 

Act of Annates, the firat, 341. 

Act of House of Commons de- 
claring England a common- 
wealth, 495. 

Act of Uniformity, 371. 

Act of Union between England 
and Scotland, 566 ; between 
Great Britain and Ireland, 651. 
VActs of Supremacy, 343, 369. 

Adam of Bremen, 86. 

Adam of Murimuth, 246. 

Adam of Usk, extracts from the 
chronicle of, 252. 

Adams, John,Jfirst American min- 
ister, (iXl^^\ 

yElfrici Colloqiiijim, 71. 

^lius Spartianus, visit of Ha- 
drian to Britain, 28. 

./Eneid, 328. 
Jf'Agincourt, battle of, 286. 

Agricola, campaign in Caledonia, 
26. 

Alan of Canterbury, 150. 

Albemarle, duke of, letter of, to 
duke of Monmouth, 537 ; letter 
from duke of Monmouth, 537. 

Albert, Prince, 700. 

Alcuin, letter of, to the Kentish- 
men, 57. 

Alexander, pope, letter to his 
legates in England, 159. 

Alford, Richard, letter of, to John 
Willoubie, 515. 

Alfred, Life of by Asser, 63 ; ac- 
cession of, 62, 64 ; Dooms of, 
80 ; reforms of, 67. 

America, discovery of, 306 ; settle- 
ment of, 443 ; civil war in, 729. 

American colonies, 623. 

Angles and Saxons, first con- 
quests of, 35. 

Anglesea, revolt in, 23. 



Angliae Notitiae,\>^ Chamberlayne, 
561. 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 38; ex- 
tracts from, 59, 73, 83, 107, III, 
127. 

Annales, Cornelius Tacitus, 23. 

Annates, Act of, the first, 341. 

Anne, reign of, 560. 

Annual Register, 608. 
xAnselm, letter to, from Henry I, 
124. 

Appeals, the Statute of, 342. 

Areopagitica, 478. 

Arkwright, Sir Richard, 613. 

Aries, Council of, 31. 

Armada, 403, 405. 

Arms, Assize of, 143. 

Ascham, Roger, concerning Eliza- 
beth's learning, 408. 

Asser, Life of Alfred, 63 ; arrival 
of, at Alfred's court, 68. 
^^ Assize of Arms, 143. 
^ Assize of Clarendon, 141. 

Attainder, bill of, against Straf- 
ford, 470. 

Atticus, letters of Cicero to, 14. 

Augustine's mission, 47. 

Australia, 600. 

Babylonia7i Captivity of the Church, 
On the, by Luther, 332. 

Bacon, Francis, Essays, 436. 

Baillie, Robert, diary of, 467. 

Ball, John, sermon of, 260 ; liber- 
ation of, 262. 

Balliol, John, 231. 
^annockbum, battle of, 232. 

Baptists, 562. 

Barillon, letter of, to Louis XIV, 

532- 
Barons, conspiracy of, in 1213, 
179 ; conflicts of, with Henry 
III, 217 ; war of the, 222. 



769 



770 



Readings in Efiglish History 



Battle Abbey, 107. 

Battle of Peterloo, 666. 

Bede, Ecclesiastical History, 36, 
53; Augustine's mission, 47; 
conversion of Northumbria, 49. 

Benevolences, invention of, 300. 

Beorvulf, 44. 

Bill of attainder against Strafford, 
470. 

Bill of Rights, 545. 

Bishops, Puritan attack on, 423. 
1^ Black Death, 255. 

Black Hole of Calcutta, 590. 
^ Black Prince, 244, 275. 

Blakman, 296. 

Blenheim, battle of, 560. 

Blore Heath, battle of, 297. 

Boadicea, revolt under, 23; speech 
of, 25. 

Boleyn, Anne, letter to, from 
Henry VIII, 336. 

Bolingbroke, Lord, letter of, to 
Sir William Wyndham, 576. 

Book of Martyrs, 358. 

Borley in Essex, extent of, 212. 

Braddock's defeat, 595. 

Bradford's History, 445. 

Bread riots, 665. 

Breda, Declaration of, 505 ; recep- 
tion of, by parliament, 507. 

Bretigny, Treaty of, 247. 

Bright, John, description of, 727 ; 
letter of, to P. Hartley, 747 ; 
speech of, in 1861, 729. 

Britain, early description of, i ; 
conquest of, under Claudius, 
20, 22 ; decay of, 32. 

British Empire, foundation of, 551. 

Britons, description of, 15; cus- 
toms of, 16. 

Brown, William Wells, 726. 

Bruce, 232. 

Brunanburh, battle of, 73. 

Buckingham, letters from James 
I. 433' 434; to James I, 435; 
dispute concerning, 455 ; im- 
peachment of, 456. 

Burke, Edmund, 608 ; Conciliation 
with America, 628 ; Reflections 
on the French Revolution, 647. 

Burnet, Bishop, 542, 548, 551 ; 
History of the Reformation, 



511 ; History of His Own Time, 

551- 
Burney, Miss, at court of George 
III, 652. 

Cabot, John, 306, 312, 313. 

Caedmon, 53. 

Caesar, Gains Julius, description 

of Britain, 2 ; first invasion of 

Britain, 10 ; second invasion, 

12; of the Britons, 15. 
Calais, sea fight before, 407. 
Caledonia, early conquest of, 26. 
Cambridge, coroner's inquest at, 

192. 
Campbell, Captain, 554. 
Campion, Edmund, execution of, 

389- 
Canada, Lord Durham's report on, 

757 ; attracted to United States, 

758; proposal for self-govern- 
ment, 759. 
Canals, 612. 
Canterbury, sack of, 60. 
Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's, 274; 

extract from, 274. 
Capgrave, John, extract from 

chronicle, 286. 
Carew, letters of, to Roe, 441. 
Carey, Robert, extracts from 

memoirs of, 406; letter of, to 

his father, 411. 
Carlyle, Thomas, Past and Present, 

201. 
Catalogue of Lucubrations, by 

Erasmus, 316. 
Catherine of Aragon, 2)^1 ■ 
Catholic Emancipation Act, 1829, 

678. 
Catholics, the struggle with, 382. 
Cavendish, Thomas, 396. 
Caxton, 328 ; Prologue to trans- 
lation of Virgil's yEneid, 328. 
Cecil, William, 368. 
Chamberlayne's Angliae N^otitiae, 

561. 
Chandos, marquis of, speech of, 

1 831, 684. 
Charles, prince, letter to, from 

James I, 434. 
Charles the Great, letter to Offa, 

56. 



Index 



771 



Charles I, letters of, 470, 472, 
478, 482 ; efforts to save Straf- 
ford, 471 ; intrusion into House 
of Commons, 475; dispute with 
parliament, 477 ; trial, 485 ; sen- 
tence of High Court of Justice, 
486 ; death warrant, 489 ; ac- 
count of last night, 489; execu- 
tion, 490 ; stanzas on death of, 
491. 

Charles II, character sketch of, 
511; social conditions under, 
515 ; effort to introduce freedom 
of worship, 518; death of, 532; 
mock epitaph on, 534. 

Charm for bees, 45. 

Charter of the city of Lincoln, 208. 

Chartism, 701. 

Chartist petition, 702. 

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 274 ; 
Treatise on Astrolabe, 274. 

Chesterfield, Lord, character 
sketches of George I, 571 ; 
of George II, 572 ; of Walpole, 
578; William Pitt, 607. 

Christianity, in Roman Britain, 
31; in England, 46; in Kent, 
47; in Northumbria, 49; in East 
Anglia, 52. 

Christians in Britain, a.d. 314, 32. 

Chronicon Angliae, 258. 

Church, oldest in England, 49. 

Church courts, edict to strengthen, 
109. 

Church rules, by William I, no. 

Chute, John, letter to, from Horace 
Walpole, 589. 

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, letters to 
Atticus, 14. 

Cistercians, 204; in England, 205. 

Civil War in America, 729. 

Clarendon, Assize of, 141. 

Clarendon, constitutions of, 147. 

Clarendon, Council of, 146. 

Clarendon, earl of, charactersketch 

of, 513- 
Clergy, submission of, 340. 
Clive, treaty between Meer Jaffier 

and, 592. 
Cloune, Sir Cornelius, miracle of, 

269. 
Cnut, 84, 86; letter from, 87. 



Cobbett, Weekly Register, 663. 

Cobden, description of, 726. 

Coffee-Hojise, Character of a, 529. 

Colloquium ALlfrici, 71. 

Colonies, concentration of power 
over, 755; self-government in, 
761 ; speech concerning reten- 
tion of, 762. 

Colonies, To the, by WiUiam Wat- 
son, 764. 

Colonization, an opinion adverse 
to, 1790, 752. 

Commerce and explorations, 394. 

Commonwealth, 467, 495. 

Conciliation with America, by Ed- 
mund Burke, 628. 

Conflicts between Henry III and 
the barons, 217. 

Conservatives, contests of, with 
Radicals, 663. 

Constitutions of Clarendon, 147. 

Conway, General, 636. 

Cook, James, extracts from the 
journal of, 601. 

Corn-Law Rhymes, by Ebenezer 
Elliott, 708. 

Corn Laws, 701. 

Coronation charter of Henry 1, 121. 

Council of Aries, 31. 

Council of Clarendon, 146. 

Count de Feria, Spanish ambas- 
sador, 362. 

Court of High Commission, 463. 

Court-martial of Thomas Doughty, 

397- 

Craft gilds, 209, 211. 

Crecy, battle of, 242, 249.^ 

Crimean War, 716. 

Cromwell, Oliver, letter of, to Colo- 
nel Valentine Walton, 481; to 
William Lenthall, 482 ; sonnet 
of Milton to, 499. 

Cromwell, Thomas, letters to, from 
John Ap Rice, 345 ; from John 
London, 346. 

Crusade of Richard I, 173. 

Curwen, Samuel, 631. 

Danegeld, 84. 

Danes, invasion of, 57 ; battles of, 

62. 
Danish conquest, 83. 



772 



Readings in English History 



Darnley, Lord, 377. 
Death warrant of Charles I, 489. 
Declaration of Breda, 505 ; recep- 
tion of, by parliament, 507. 
Declaration of Indulgence, 539. 
Declaration of Sports, 421. 

Declaratory act, 1766, 625.. 

Defender of the Faith; 333. 
Defense of the Seven Sacrameiits, 

332- 
Defoe, Daniel, 564 ; The Shortest 

Way with Dissenters, 565. 
Delhi, 716. 
Demand for throne made by 

Henry of Lancaster, 277. 
Democracy, growth of, 716. 
Devonshire, duke of, letter to, 

from marquis of Hartington, 577; 

from Sir Robert Walpole, 576. 
Diamond Jubilee, 765. 
Digges, Sir Dudley, 456. 
Dio Cassius, invasion of Britain 

under Claudius, 20. 
Diodorus Siculus, description of 

early Britain, 2. 
Discussion in House of Commons, 

1780, 640. 
Dispute concerning territory west 

of Allegheny Mountains, 593. 
Disraeli, description of, 723, 727. 
Dissenters, 561. 

Dissolution of monasteries, 344. 
Divine right of kings, 538. 
Dooms of Alfred, 80. 
Domesday Survey, 108, in, 112; 

report of possessions of abbey 

of Ely, 112; extracts from, 1 13. 
Doughty, Thomas, court-martial 

of, 397- 
Drake, Sir Francis, 396 ; letter of, 

to Secretary Walsingham, 405. 
Dudley, Sir Robert, 376. 
Dunning's resolutions, 641. 
Durham, Lord, report on Canada, 

757- 
Dutch, hostility of, to English in 
New Amsterdam, 520. 

Eadmer, extracts from chronicle 
of, no, 115, 127. 

East Angles, introduction of Chris- 
tianity among, 52. 



East India Company, 721. 
Ecclesiastical History of England, 

by Bede, 36, 53. 
Edgar, ordinance of, for the hun- 
dred moot, 78. 
Edict concerning wager of battle 

by William, 105. 
Edinburgh Revieiv, 614, 697. 
Edmund Ironside's grandchildren, 

90. 
Edward the Confessor, sanctifi- 

cation of, 123. 
Edward I, description of, 226 ; 

reign of, 225. 
Edward III, styles himself king 

of France, 236; defies Philip, 

240. 
Edward IV, seizure of throne 

by, 299 ; financial arrangements, 

301. 
Edward VI, 351. 
Edwin, death of, 51. 
Egbert, king of West Saxons, 60. 
Eikon Basilike, extracts from, 492. 
Eliot, Sir John, 456. 
Elizabeth, Queen, 361, 362, 363, 

374; letter from pope, 373; 

excommunication of, 382 ; letter 

to James of Scotland, 403 ; 

characteristics, 408 ; speeches 

of, 410, 415; anecdotes of, 411, 

412. 
Elliott, Ebenezer, Corn-Law 

Rhymes, 708. 
Ellis, Francis, letter to, from T. B. 

Macaulay, 688. 
Elmham, Thomas of, 288. 
Ely, abbey of, possessions of, in 

Domesday Survey, 112. 
England ; an Ode, by A. C. Swin- 
burne, 765. ■ 
England in 1395, account by 

Froissart, 275. 
English claims in North America, 

1753, 595- 
English, expulsion of, from 

France, 296. 
English language and literature, 

272. 
Erasmus, Catalogue of Liicnbra- 

tions, 316; letter of, to Robert 

Fisher, 314; to Servatius, 315; 



Index 



771 



to Sixtinus, 315 ; to Dr. Francis, 

316. 
Eskimos, 394, 395. 
Essex, earl of, Geoffrey de Man- 

deville, 130. 
Ethelbert's fear of magic, 48. 
Evelyn, John, 499 ; extracts from 

diary, 500. 
D'Ewes, Sir Simonds, autobiog- 
raphy of, 455. 
Executions of Roman Catholics, 

388 ; Edmund Campion, 389 ; 

James Fenn, 393 ; William Hart, 

392 ; Robert Johnson, 390. 
Executions during reign of Queen 

Mary, 358. 
Exodus of the Children of Israel 

from Egypt, 55. 
Explorations and commerce, 394, 

402. 
Extent of manor of Borley, 212. 

Fabyan's Chronicle, 300. 

Factory act, extracts from address 
introducing, 695. 

Factory laborers, testimony given 
by, 692. 

Factory law, debate on, 691. 

Fenn, James, execution of, 393. 

Feria, Count de, 362 ; letters of, to 
king of Spain, 363. 

Feudalism, relief to be paid, 131 ; 
duties, 132 ; acknowledgments, 
133. 134; wardships, 134; 
right to hold court, 135; con- 
fiscation and regrant of fief, 
136. 

Fire of London, 524. 

Fisher, Robert, letter to, from 
Erasmus, 314. 

Fitz-Harding, Stephen, helps to 
found Cistercian order, 205. 

Fitz-Stephen, William, 144. 

Flemings, expulsion of, under 
Henry II, 140. 

Forest laws, 108. 

Forster, William E., 762. 

Fountainhall's Metnotrs, 534. 

Foxe's Book of Ma7-tyrs, 358. 

France, war in 1369, 257. 

Francis, Dr., letter of Erasmus to, 
316. 



Free trade, resolution in favor of, 

1852,715. 
French claims in North America, 

594- 
French Revolution, 647. 
French Revohiliott, Reflections on 

the, by Burke, 647. 
Frobisher, voyage of, 394. 
Froissart's Chronicles, extracts 

from, 233, 260, 275. 
Fuller, History of the Holy Wars, 

632. 

Garter, order of the, 247. 

Gebur, 73. 

Geoffrey de Mandeville, earl of 
Essex, 130. 

Geography of Strabo, 16. 

George I, character sketch of, by 
Lord Chesterfield, 571. 

George II, character sketch of, by 
Lord Chesterfield, 572. 

George III, description of, 604; 
accession of, 605, 615; corre- 
spondence with Lord North, 
634 ; speech to parliament, 636 ; 
dissatisfaction with, 640 ; in- 
sanity of, 652, 654. 

George IV, 654. 

Gerntaniahy Cornelius Tacitus, 41. 

Germans, customs of, 42. 

Gildas, extracts from, 32, 35. 

Gilds and towns, 208. 

Giraldus Cambrensis, 137 ; ex- 
tracts from autobiography of, 
164. 

Giustiniani, letter of, 330. 

Gladstone, description of, 723, 
727 ; Life of Gladstone, by Mor- 
ley, 748 ; speeches of, 735, 748. 

Glencoe, massacre of, 554. 

Glendower, Owen, rising of, 283. 

Gloucester, letter from, 613. 

Good Hope, Cape of, 401. 

Good Parliament, 258; account of, 
in Chronicon Angliae, 258, 280. 

Gordon riots, 641. 

Goths, settlement in Britain, 40. 

Gower, Dr. Humphrey, 538. 

Graham, Sir J., letter to, from R. 
Parker, 713; letter of, to Sir 
Robert Peel, 714. 



774 



Readings hi English History 



Great Council, 107, 1 1 1 ; summons 
to, 217; its action, 218; under 
Henry III, 226. 

Great Mogul, 441. 

Great Protestation of House of 
Commons, 162 1, 452. 

Green, J. R., Making of England,"] . 

Gregory I, Pope, 46. 

Gregory VII, Pope, no. 

Greville, Q,.<Z.¥ ., Journal, 699, 704, 
707. 

Grey, Lady Jane, report of execu- 
tion of, 356. 

Grey Friars at Reading, 345 ; 
Chronicle, 351. 

Grim, Edward, 155, 157. 

Gunpowder Plot, 432. 

Guthrum, baptism of, 66. 

Habeas Corpus Act, 522. 
Hadrian's visit to England, 27. 
Hakluyt, Principal A\ivigations, 

401. 
Hall, extract from chronicle of, 

337- 

Hampton Court Conference, 430. 

Harold's visit to Duke William, 91. 

Hart, William, execution of, 392. 

Hartington, marquis of, letter of, 
to duke of Devonshire, 577. 

Hartley, P., letter to, from John 

Bright, 747. 
■Hastings, battle of, 94, 98. 

Haxey, Thomas, the case of, 282. 

Henry I, 121; coronation charter 
of, 121; laws of, 131; letter to 
Anselm, 124; letter from pope, 
126. 

Henry II, 1 3 7; personal appearance, 
137; character, 138; policy, 139; 
laws, 141 ; and Thomas, 144, 145; 
penance of, 1 58 ; canonization 
of, 159; makes grants in Ireland, 
169, 170; scene at burial, 171. 

Henry III, and the barons, 217 ; 
and Simon de Montfort, 221. 

Henry IV, letter to, from Wales, 
283; from Prince Henry, 283. 

Uetiry 7' by Shakespeare, 286. 

Henry V, speech of, 286 ; arrange- 
ments for government of Eng- 
land and France, 288. 



Henry VI, description of, 296, 297. 

Henry VII, 306; account book of, 
306. ■ 

Henry VIII, description of, 330 ; 
letter to Anne Boleyn, 336. 

Henry of Lancaster's claim to the 
throne, 277. 

Henry, Prince, letter of, to Henry 
IV, 283. 

Henry, Prince, letter to, from Sir 
Walter Raleigh, 439. 

Hentzner, Paul, description of 
England, 6. 

Herbal, Dr. William Turner, 409. 

Heresy, first burning for, in Eng- 
land, 271. 

Herodian, account of Severus'cani- 
paign in Britain, 28. 

Hertford, earl of, letter to, from 
Horace Walpole, 619. 

Hervey, Lord, Memoirs, 573. 

High Court of Justice, sentence of, 
upon Charles I, 486. 

Hipocrisy Unmasked, 450. 

Historical Jour na I oi Captain John 
Knox, 598. 

Historie of Kynge Richarde the 
Thirde, by Sir Thomas More, 
301. 

History of His Own Ti7ne,hy Gilbert 
Burnet, 511, 551. 

History of Plit)touth Plantation, by 
Bradford, 446. 

History of the Holy Wars, hy Fuller, 
632. 

Histofy of the Reformation, by 
Gilbert Burnet, 511. 

History of the World, by Sir Walter 
Raleigh, 437, 438. 

Hodder, I. R., letters of, from 
India, 1857, 716. 

Horner, Francis, 643 ; letter to Sir 
Samuel Romilly, 646; letter to 
Sidney Smith, 646. 

House of Commons, 226, 281, 415, 
428 ; right of free speech, 282 ; 
apologizes to James I, 428 ; letter 
of James I to, 451; Great Pro- 
testation of, 452 ; intrusion of 
Charles I into, 475; act of, de- 
claring England a common- 
wealth, 495 ; discussions in, 640; 



Index 



77S 



report of committee of, 1820, 

670; Reform Bill in, 6S0; speech 

of Marquis of Chandos, 183 1, 

684. 
House of Lords, Reform Bill in, 

679. 
Howard, Admiral, letter of, to 

Secretary Walsingham, 404. 
Howell, James, letter of, to his 

father, 453. 
Hugh de Mortimer, 141. 
Hundred moot, ordinance of King 

Edgar for, 78. 
Hundred Rolls, 133. 
Hundred Years' War, 233 ; close 

of, 2S9. 
Hunsdon, Lord, letter of, from Sir 

Robert Carey, 411. 

Impeachment of king's ministers, 

first instance of, 2S0. 
Imperial interests of Great Britain, 

590- 

Imperialist feeling, 766. 

Independents, 563. 

India, rebellion in, 716; proclama- 
tion of queen to people of, 721. 

Indulgence, Declaration of, 539. 

Industrial Revolution, 610. 

Inglis, Sir Robert H., speech 
against Reform Bill, 683. 

Injuries, compensation for, 81. 

Innocent, Pope, to monks of West- 
minster, 123. 

Inscriptions, Roman, 31. 

Instructions from the English min- 
istry to American governors, 595. 

Instrument of Government, 495. 

Interdict of 1208-12 13, 177. 

Investiture, lay, 125; prohibited, 
126; compromise, 127. 

Ireland, description of, by Giraldus 
Cambrensis, 168; union of, with 
Great Britain, 650. 

Irish home rule, 748. 

James I, 381 ; on tobacco, 420 ; 
speeches, 426; letters to Buck- 
ingham, 433, 434 ; to House of 
Commons, 451 ; from Bucking- 
ham, 435 ; from parliament, 451 ; 
death of, 453. 



James II, accession of, 532 ; letter 

to prince of Orange, 538 ; letter 

from duke of Monmouth, 538 ; 

invasion of Ireland, 551. 
Jamestown, 443. 
Jay, John, 637. 
Jeffrey, Francis, 614. 
Jews, debts to, 201 ; treatment of, 

227 ; expulsion of, 230. 
Joan of Arc, 289; letter of, to 

king of England, 292; testimony 

concerning herself, 293. 
Jocelin of Brakelond, 201. 
John, King, 176. 
John of Trevisa, on the position 

of French in England, 273. 
Johnson, Robert, execution of, 390. 
Jubilee, 765. 
Judges, speech of James I befoT , 

426. 
Judges, trial before the king's, 265. 
Jtiitiiis Letters, 621. 
Jutes, settlement in Britain, 40. 
Juvenal des Ursins, extracts from 

the chronicle of, 2S4. 

Kentishmen, letter of Alcuin to 
the, 57. 

Knighton, Henry, 255 ; account 
of Black Death, '255 ; of Peas- 
ants' Rebellion, 261 ; of Wyc- 
liffe, 266. 

Knox, Captain John, Historical 
Journal, 598. 

Laborers, meeting of, 1846, 710. 
Laborers, statute of, 256. 
Labrador, 395. 
Lamy, Colonel, letter of, to Colonel 

Lord Rolle, 665. 
Language, English, use of, 272. 
Law against Englishmen seeking 

papal appointments, 250. 
Law against provisors, 250. 
Laws, penal, ineffective, 673. 
Laws of Henry /, 131. 
Laws of William the Conqiceror,!^^- 
Leicester, 38 1. 
Lenthall, William, letter to, from 

Cromwell, 482. 
Leopold, king of Belgium, letter 

from Queen Victoria to, 700. 



n^ 



Readings in English History 



Lewes, battle of, 222. 

Leyden, 448. 

Life of Gladstone, by Morley, 748. 

Life of More, by Roper, 331. 

Life of St. Osivald, 85. 

Lincoln, charter of city of, 20S. 

Lincoln, President, 733. 

Lollards, 266, 268, 269, 270, 271. 

London, earliest description of, 
24 ; sack of, 60. 

London, John, letter of, to Secre- 
tary Cromwell, 346. 

London Times, 660. 

Long Parliament, expulsion of, 
by Cromwell, 498. 

Long-bow, proclamation in favor 
of, 249. 

Loui- ^'TV, letter to, from Barillon, 
; ^j ; from Count Tallard, 555 ; 
■ J Count Tallard, 558. 

Loyalists, 631. 

Lupset, Thomas, 326. 

Luther, On the Babylonian Cap- 
tivity of the Church, 332. 

Macaulay, T. B., 688; letter to 
Francis Ellis, 688 ; on Roman 
Catholic Church, 674 ; descrip- 
tion of, 726. 

Magellan, Strait of, 398. 

Magna Carta, 177; extracts from, 
182. 

Mainwaring, Rev. Roger, a sermon 
by, 427. 

Making of England, by Green, 7. 

Maldon, battle of, 84. 

Manchester, 666. 

Mann, Sir Horace, letters from 
Horace Walpole to, 580, 605, 
606, 618, 621. 

Marlborough, duke of, letters of, 
to his wife, 560. 

Marprelate, Martin, anonymous 
pamphlets of, 423. 

Marston Moor, 480. 

Marvell, Andrew, An Horatiaji 
Ode, 491. 

Mary, queen of England, 355 ; 
marriage with Philip, 366. 

Mary Queen of Scots, 375, 376, 
377 ; imprisonment of, 382, 403. 

Massachusetts, 626. 



Massacre, Manchester, 666. 
Matthew Paris, 217, 222. 
Mayflower, 450. 
Meade, Rev. Joseph, letters of, to 

Sir Martin Stuteville, 435, 457. 
Meer Jaffier, treaty between Clive 

and, 592. 
Meeting of laborers, 1846, 710. 
Melville, Sir James, ambassador 

from Mary Queen of Scots, 374, 

381. 
Metnoirs, by Fountainhall, 534. 
Memoirs, by Lord Hervey, 573. 
Memoirs, by Wraxall, 641. 
Memorials, by Whitelocke, 471, 

485- 

Methodism, 586. 

Mile End, conference at, 263. 

Millenary Petition, 425. 

Milton's Areopagitica, 478; ex- 
tracts from, 479; sonnet to 
Cromwell, 499. 

Minutes of council of ministers of 
French government, 593. 

Miracle of Sir Cornelius Cloune, 
269. 

Mona, revolt in, 23. 

Monasteries, 195; dissolution of, 

344- 

Monmouth, duke of, rebellion of, 
536 ; letter to duke of Albe- 
marle, 537 ; from duke of Albe- 
marle, 537 ; to James II, 538. 

Monopolies, 415. 

Monstrelet's chronicle, 289. 

Montcalm, death of, 600. 

More, Sir Thomas, Historie of 
Kynge Richarde the Thirde, 
301 ; Utopia, 317, 331, 347, 353. 

Morley, Life of Gladstone, 748. 

Alunimetita Academica, 188. 

Mutiny Act, 549. 

Napoleon, surrender of, 660. 

Naseby, battle of, 481. 

Navigation Act, 497. 

Navy of Alfred, 63. 

Nelson, victory at Trafalgar, 655; 

contemporary estimate of, 656. 
New Amsterdam, capture of, 520. 
New Forest, 106. 
New Jersey, 627. 



Index 



777 



New York, 627. 

JVe'iU York Times, 767. 

Newcastle, earl of, letter to, from 

Charles I, 478. 
Norham, award of, 231. 
Norman conquerors, distribution 

of land to, 103. 
Norman Conquest, 90 ; account of, 

by Symeon of Durham, lot ; by 

Wace, 95 ; immediate results of, 

102. 
Normans, account of, by William 

of Malmesbury, 102. 
North, Lord, 641 ; correspondence 

of George III with, 634. 
iVortk Briton, The, No. 45, 615. 
Northumbria, conversion of, 49 ; 

missionaries in, from Scotland, 

52- 
Northwest passage, 394. 
Notitia Dignitaiiim, 29. 

Offa, letter from Charles the 
Great to, 56. 

Orange, prince of, letter to, from 
James II, 538. 

Ordeal, trial by, in Assize of 
Clarendon, 142. 

Ordeal of iron, rules for, 79. 

Order of the Garter, 247. 

Orderic Vitalis, account of distri- 
bution of lands to Norman con- 
querors, 103 ; account of the 
New Forest, 106. 

Ordinances of spur makers of 
London, 209 ; of white-leather 
dressers of London, 211. 

Orleans, siege of, 290 ; relief of, 
292. 

Oswald, king of Northumbria, 51. 

Oswald, St., Life of, 85. 

Owen Glendower, rising of, 283. 

Oxford, University of, 194. 

Pace, Richard, letter from, to 

Cardinal Wolsey, 333. 
Palmerston, Lord, 715, 728. 
Papal appointments, law against 

Englishmen seeking, 250. 
Papendieck, Madame, journal of, 

654. 
Papists under Anne, 562. 



Parker, R., letter of, to Sir J. 
Graham, 713. 

Parliament, growth of, 279 ; speech 
of Queen Elizabeth in, 415; 
speech of James I in, 426 ; con- 
flict with James I, 451 ; scene in, 
1629, 460 ; dispute of Charles I 
with, 477 ; purchase of seats in, 
644. 

Parliamentary committee, testi- 
mony by factory laborers to, 
692. 

Parliamentary Debates, 679. 

Parliamentary theories, 418 ; re- 
form completed, 735. 

Paschal, Pope, letter of, to Henry 
I, 126. 

Past and Present, by Thomas 
Carlyle, 201. 

Peasants' Rebellion, account of, 
by Henry Knighton, 261. 

Peel, Sir Robert, letter to, from 
Sir J. Graham, 714. 

Penal laws ineffective, 673. 

Pennsylvania, 626. 

People oppressed by barons, 129. 

Pepys, Samuel, 508 ; extracts 
from diary of, 508. 

Percy, George, extracts from diarv 
of, 443. 

Perjury, punishment for, 81. 

Peterloo, battle of, 666. 

Peter's pence, 89. 

Petition of Right, extracts from, 
458. 

Petition of the Seven Bishops, 
541. 

Pevensey, landing at, 97. 

Philip II, unpopularity of, in Eng- 
land, 364 ; marriage of, with 
Queen Mary, 366. 

Philip IV, defiance of, by Edward, 
240. 

Philobiblon, extracts from, 193. 

Pilgrim Fathers, 445. 

Pitt, William, early appearance of, 
583 ; letter to, from General 
Wolfe, 596 ; resignation of, 
606; character sketch of, by 
Lord Chesterfield, 607; charac- 
ter sketch of, in Annual Reg- 
ister, 608 ; speech of, 623. 



778 



Readings in English History 



Pius IV, letter of, to Queen Eliza- 
beth, 373. 
Plains of Abraham, battle of, 

599- 
Plimoiith Plantation, History of, 

by Bradford, 446. 
Fly m ley's, Peter, Letters, by Sydney 

Smith, 675. 
Pole, Cardinal, 326. 
Poll tax, 260. 

Pope, stanza on Walpole, 579. 
Post-office system, 697. 
Potato blight, 713. 
Praemunire, statute of, 251. 
Prayer for use on Queen Eliza- 
beth's festival day, 409. 
Presbyterians, 564. 
Prestonpans, Jacobite victory at, 

581. 
Princes, the murder of, 304. 
Proclamation of Queen Victoria 

to people of India, 1858, 721. 
Provisors, preamble of a law 

against, 250. 
Prynne, William, trial of, in Star 

Chamber, 463. 
Public Advertiser, letter to, from 

Junius, 622. 
Public schools, free, 741. 
Pultney, Daniel, letter to, from 

William Pultney, 574. 
Punch, 733 : extract from, 734. 
Puritan attack on bishops, 423. 
Puritan parliament, 459. 
Puritan theories, 418. 
Puritans, attitude of James I 

towards, 430. 

Quakers, 563; sufferings of, 515; 
unwillingness of, to swear, 517. 
Quartering, method of, 388. 
Quebec, 596; capture of, 598. 

Radicals, contests of, with con- 
servatives, 663. 

Raleigh, Lady, letter to, from Sir 
Walter Raleigh from Guiana, 
440. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, History of the 
World, 437 ; letter to his wife, 
440 ; letter to Prince Henry, 
439- 



Ralph of Diceto, account of the 

penance of Henry II, 158. 
Ramsey abbey, seizure of, 130. 
Rebellion, the Great, 467. 
Pectitudines Singnlarum Per- 

sonarum, 73. 
Reflections on the French Revolu- 
tion, by Burke, 647. 
Reform Bill, 679, 680, 683, 688, 

735' 747 • dissatisfaction with, 

701. 
Reform legislation, 690. 
Religious organization under 

Queen Anne, 561. 
Religious tests abolished at the 

universities, 739. 
Resolutions adopted in parlia- 

ment, 1629, 462. 
Responsible Government for the 

Colonies, 755. 
Restoration, 505. 
Revolution, the, 539. 
Revolution, industrial, 610. 
Rice, John Ap, letter of, to Secre- 
tary Cromwell, 345. 
Richard I, description of, 172; 

prepares for Third Crusade, 

173; penance of, 174; account 

of, in Holy Land, 175. 
Richard III, 299, 301. 
Richard of Lyons, impeachment 

of, 280. 
Right, Petition of, extracts from, 

458. 
Riots of 1819, 666. 
Rochester, earl of, epitaph of, on 

Charles II, 534. 
Roe, letters to, from Carew, 441. 
Roger of Hoveden, 145. 
Roger of Wendover, 179. 
Rolle, Colonel Lord, letter to, 

from Colonel Lamy, 665. 
Roman Catholic Church, Macaulay 

on, 674. 
Roman Catholics in England, 

under Elizabeth, 385 ; answers 

of, 386, 387. 
Rovtan de Rojt, by Wace, 95. 
Roman inscriptions, 31. 
Romans, the, first invasion of 

Britain by, 10; second invasion 

by, 12. 



Index 



779 



Romilly, Sir Samuel, 643, 644 ; 

letter from Sir Francis Horner 

to, 646. 
Root and Branch Petition, 473. 
Roper, Li/e of More, extracts from, 

33I' 347- 

Roses, Wars of the, 296. 

Rous, John, speech of, 460. 

Royal theories, 418. 

Rudolph of Aries, 88. 

Ruined City, The, 33. 

Rules for ordeal of iron, 79. 

Runnymede, 181. 

Russell, Lord John, speech of, on 
Reform Bill, 6S0 ; description 
of, 728. 

Russia, emperor of, visit to Eng- 
land, 669. 

Sadler, Michael, 695. 

St. Albans, abbey of; debts, 196; 

appeal to king, 196; building of 

a shrine, 197; books, 198; 

rooms, 199; investments, 200; 

ale, 200, 222, 226. 
St. Albans, second battle of, 298. 
St. Edmunds, abbey of, 200, 344. 
Salisbury oath, 11 1. 
Saxons, settlement in Britain, 35, 

40. 
Schools, free public, 741. 
Scotland, early conquest of, 26 ; 

union with, during reign of 

Anne, 566. 
Senlac, battle of, 94. 
Servatius, letter to, from Eras- 
mus, 315. 
Services of villeins, 215. 
Seven bishops, petition of the, 541. 
Severus, Emperor, 28. 
Sforza, Francisco, letter to, from 

Raimondo Soncino, 311. 
Shaftesbury, earl of, character 

sketch of, 514. 
Ship money, writ of, 465. 
Shire moot, meeting of, 77. 
Shortest Way with Dissenters, by 

Daniel Defoe, 565. 
Sidmouth, Lord, letter from duke 

of Welhngton to, 666; letter 

from secretary of Prince Regent 

to, 669. 



Sidney, Philip, letter to, from his 

father, 412. 
Sidney, Robert, journal of, 498. 
Sidney, Sir Henry, letter of, to his 

son, 412. 
Simon de Montfort, 221, 224. 
Sixtinus, letter to, from Erasmus, 

315- 
Skelton, John, Why cojne ye not to 

Court ? 334. 
Slave trade, abolition of, 1806, 

651. 
Sluys, battle before, 238. 
Smith, Sidney, 643 ; letter from 

Francis Horner to, 646; Peter 

Plyinley''s Letters, 675. 
Smithfield, conference at, 264. 
Smyth, William, account of, 269. 
Soncino, Raimondo, letter of, to 

Francisco Sforza, 311. 
South Sea panic, 574. 
Spain, king of, letter to, from am- 
bassador in England, 363. 
Spanish marriage, 433; unpopu- 
larity of, 435. 
Spanish ship, capture of, 400. 
Spanish Succession, War of, 557. 
Speaker, The, 766. 
Speech of duke of Wellington to 

House of Lords, 1830, 679. 
Speeches in House of Commons, 

June 23, 181 5, 658. 
Spinning machine, 613. 
Sports, Declaration of, 421. 
Stamford Bridge, battle of, 93. 
Stamp Act, 623. 
Star Chamber, 441, 463. 
Starkey, Thomas, 326; dialogue 

by, 326. 
Statute of Appeals, 342. 
Statute of laborers, 256. 
Statute of praemunire, 251. 
Statute requiring use of English 

language in law courts, 272. 
Stephen, coronation of, 128; arrests 

Henry's officers, 128. 
Story of Derniot and the Eajrl, 169. 
Strabo, Geos;raphy, 16. 
Strafford, impeachment of, 467 ; 

bill of attainder against, 470; 

efforts of Charles I to save, 

471 ; letter concerning, 472. 



78o 



Readings in English History 



Submission of the Clergy, 340. 

Suetonius, Roman governor, 24. 

Sully, Due de, extracts from me- 
moirs of, 418. 

Summons to the Great Council, 
217. 

Supremacy, Act of, 343, 367, 

369- 
Supremacy, oath of, 384. 
Swegen, 84. 
Swift, Jonathan, A Short View of 

the State of Ireland, 567. 
Swinburne, A. C, England; an 

Ode, 765. 
Symeon of Durham, account of 

Norman Conquest, loi. 

Tacitus, Cornelius, description, 4; 

origin of Britons, 18; Annates, 

23 ; on the conquest of Britain, 

22; Germania, 41; revolt in 

Mona, 23. 
Tallard, Count, letter of, to Louis 

XIV, 555; letter from Louis 

XIV, 558. 
Taxes granted by parliament, 

279. 
Tewkesbury, battle of, 298. 
Third reform bill, 747. 
Thomas of Canterbury, character, 

143; chancellor, 144; and Henry, 

144; diapnte, 145 ; before pope, 

150; murder, 155; miracles of, 

160. 
Thomas of Elmham, 288. 
Times f The London, 710. 
Times, The New York, 767. 
Tobacco, 419. 
Toleration Act, adoption of, 16S9, 

548. 
To the Colonies, by William Watson, 

764. 
Tournament at Windsor, 246. 
Towns, list of small, represented, 

1832, 686. 
Towrs and gilds, 208. 
Townr,hend, Lord, letter to, from 

Sir r.obert Walpole, 575. 
Townshend, speech of, in House 

of Commons, 626. 
Trade, free, resolution in favor of, 

1852, 715. 



Trade unions, extracts from minor- 
ity report on, 743 ; legalized, 742. 

Trafalgar, 655. 

Treatise on Astrolabe, by Chaucer, 
274. 

Treaty of Troyes, 287. 

Trevisa, John of, on position of 
French in England, 273. 

Troops, action of, in 18 19, 669. 

Troyes, Treaty of, extracts from, 
287. 

Turbervill, John, letter of, to John 
Willoughby, 477. 

Turner, Dr. William, Herbal, 409. 

Uniformity, Act of, 371. 

Union, Act of, between England 
and Scotland, 566; between 
Great Britain and Ireland, 651. 

United States, sympathy with 
England, 766. 

Universities, 188; rules, 188; fees, 
189; books studied, 190; assist- 
ance to scholars, 190; student 
quarrels, 191 ; coroner's inquest 
at Cambridge, 192; privileges 
from pope, 194; religious tests 
abolished at, 739. 

Usk, Adam of, 252. 

Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, 317, 
353- 

Venetian ambassador's reports to 

the senate, 355, 361. 
Verney, Sir Ralph, diary of, 475. 
Victoria, coronation of, 699 ; letter 

to Leopold, 700. 
Victory, Nelson's vessel, 655. 
Villein, services of a, 215. 
Virgin Mary at Caversham, 345. 

Wace, Roman de Ron, 95. 

Wager of battle, 105. 

Wales, letter from, to King Henry 

IV, 283. 
Wallace, 232. 
Walpole, Horace, letter to John 

Chute, 589 ; to earl of Hertford, 

619; to Sir Horace Mann, 579, 

580, 605, 606, 617, 618. 
Walpole, Sir Robert, 574; letter 

to duke of Devonshire, 576; to 



Index 



781 



Lord Townshend, 575 ; sketch of 
Lord Chesterfield, 578 ; stanza 
on, by Pope, 579. 

Walsmgham, Secretary, 401 ; letter 
from Captain Drake to, 405 ; 
from Admiral Howard to, 404. 

Walton, Colonel Valentine, letter 
of Cromwell to, 481. 

Wars' of the Roses, 296. 

Waterloo, 657. 

Watson, William, 751 ; To the 
Colonies, 764. 

Watt, James, work of, 614. 

Waverley, annals of abbey of, 177. 

Weaving, domestic, 611. 

Weekly Register, Cobbett's, 663. 

Wellington, duke of, letter to 
Lord Sidmouth, 666 ; speech of, 
to House of Lords, 679. 

Wesley, John, extracts from diary 
of, 584, 589. 

Wesleyan movement, 579. 

West Saxons, battles of, 62. 

Whitby Abbey, 53. 

Whitelocke's Memorials, 471, 485. 

Why come ye not to Coti?-t ? by 
John Skelton, 334. 

Wilkes, 618. 

William I, edict of, concerning 
wager of battle, 105 ; coronation 
oath of, 105; charter to London 
105; description of, 107 ; contest 
with the church, 109; edict 
for strengthening courts, 109; 
church rules, no; charter to 
abbey of Abingdon, 106; laws 
of, 131. 

William II, accession of, 115; 
character of, 116. 

William de Newburgh, 130, 139. 

William Fitz-Stephen, 144. 



William of Malmesbury, account 
of Norman Conquest, loi ; of 
Normans, 102 ; of William II, 
116. 

William of Orange, invasion of 
England by, 542. 

William of Poitou, account of 
battle of Hastings by, 98. 

William of Rishanger, 226. 

Willoubie, John, letter to, from 
Richard Alford, 515. 

Willoughby, John, letter of John 
Turbervill to, 477. 

Windsor, tournament at, 246. 

Winslow, 445 ; Hipocrtsy Un- 
masked, 450. 

Wolfe, General, letter of, to Mr. 
Pitt, 596 ; death of, 600. 

Wolsey, Cardinal, letter to, 'from 
Richard Pace, 333. 

Woolen trade, 613. 

Wraxall's Memoirs, 641. 

Writ of ship money, 465. 

Writ to sheriff for representatives, 

227. 

Wycliffe, account of, by Henry 
Knighton, 266 ; and the Lol- 
lards, 266; sermon by, 267. 

Wyndham, Sir William, letter to, 
from Lord Bolingbroke, 576. 

Yonge, Walter, extracts from diary 

of, 432. 
York, duke of, character sketch 

of, 512. 
York minster, relics in, 117. 
Yorkists, 297, 298. 
Yorktown, 636. 
Young, Arthur, observations of, 

610. 
Young Pretender, 579. 



yi^EZ^^ 



m -^ '^^ 



A 



